Steel-like arms clamped around his neck like giant pincers, while the skull-like pattern on the mask magnified infinitely in his view.
Feeling his breath becoming increasingly difficult, Batman tried to pry Bane's fingers with both hands.
But the effect of the Titan venom was too powerful; this special chemical agent has a terrifying enhancement effect, and injecting it into the body causes human muscles and bones to grow exaggeratedly.
The detailed data on the venom is probably known only to Bane himself, but his strength when using the venom is approximately equivalent to 1000 times that of an ordinary person.
Yes, Bane, as an ordinary person temporarily enhanced by chemicals, can lift around 120 tons, as easily as picking up a brick from the ground.
He is also a master of hand-to-hand combat, with a set of unique martial arts derived from wrestling moves, and these lethal techniques paired with immense strength make him an invincible killing machine.
Bane is currently the only survivor after using Titan venom; others generally die from body explosion within half an hour after injection.
Even Bane has developed a severe dependency on the venom; if he doesn't inject a certain maintenance dose within 12 hours, he will start to shrink and wither like a dehydrated SpongeBob, including but not limited to his muscles and bones.
These insights subconsciously swept through Batman's mind, but he had already glimpsed the giant two filter tanks behind Bane, filled with the green liquid.
"Being outsmarted by you last time was just an accident, but now we begin the second round..."
Batman groped around his belt, he was prepared, knowing that after learning about Bane's escape, he had already set up contingency plans for everyone.
Now, he just needed to buy a little time.
"You can do nothing, because you are employed by Joker." Batman pried at Bane's hand with one hand, while subtly moving the other behind his back.
Bane panted heavily: "Damn lunatic, all of you are! Although I cannot kill you, nor can I break your spine again, I can at least make you suffer!"
Saying so, he lifted Batman into the air, his free hand forming a fist, and slammed it into the black abdomen.
Little did he know, all of this fell into Batman's scheme.
The Bat knew Bane's employer and recognized that as a mercenary, Bane surely wouldn't want to provoke a madman like Joker, so Joker's orders must be to bring Batman to the madman's theater intact and conscious.
Thus, using words to humiliate Bane, anger him, and induce him to unleash his fury while holding the advantage, how would he choose?
There's no need for too much verbal stimulation; just recalling a bit of their past would infuriate Bane.
What could Bane do? Break Batman's limbs? No, Batman without combat or mobility isn't what Joker wants.
A headshot? With Bane's strength, even if Batman had helmet protection, his head wouldn't explode, but he'd at least be unconscious. This is also not what Joker wants — someone who's unresponsive to outside stimuli is equally meaningless.
Thus, Bane has very few torture methods to choose from.
He never uses any weapons, or perhaps his pan-sized fists are his weapons, and to fulfill Joker's various demands through such a blunt instrument, and also make Batman suffer, there's only one choice.
Anyone who's learned boxing or similar hard Kung Fu knows that attacking an enemy's soft ribs is the most agonizing method, and through long training, this becomes a martial artist's instinct.
The 1st to 6th pairs of ribs extend from the spine, connecting to the sternum in front, while the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th pairs of costal cartilage sequentially connect to the rib above them. The 11th and 12th pairs do not connect to the sternum or other ribs, their ends floating, thus are the soft ribs.
Being hit in the soft ribs causes pain, but as long as the fractured bones don't puncture the internal organs, the damage is actually limited.
Batman is inducing Bane to attack his soft ribs, namely the upper side abdomen.
Despite being prepared, encountering Bane's heavy punch, Batman still spat blood; not only were his ribs fractured, but even his internal organs were severely shocked.
But his plan succeeded, leveraging this heavy punch, seizing the opportunity as his body swayed towards the other side, he kicked towards the tubing at the back of Bane's head.
The venom in the tank is injected into the brain through these tubes, this is Bane's most apparent weakness, as long as his body experiences a sudden change in venom levels, Bane loses combat capability.
However, Batman's leg was blocked by Bane's hand, even though he couldn't see Bane's face, he could feel from the tone that he was smiling: "You think I'd fall in the same place twice?"
Last time, Batman had pulled the tubes, Bane wasn't a fool, he naturally knows to guard against Batman pulling the same trick again.
Yet Batman still stared emotionlessly at him, suddenly bat darts flew from somewhere, sharply cutting several tubes, sticking to the sole of Batman's shoe.
"Ah!!!"
Bane let out a scream of agony as the concentration of Venom in his body decreased. He suddenly felt overwhelmingly weak, as if every muscle, every bone was crying out in misery, causing him to moan uncontrollably.
Taking advantage of the moment, Batman escaped from Bane's grasp, clutching one side of his abdomen and breathing heavily. He was on the verge of passing out from hypoxia and blood loss.
The sound of the howling wind reached him, and his adjustment took less than a second. He suddenly charged at Bane, launching an aggressive attack.
There were six pipes at the back of Bane's head, and before the Venom in the filtration tank was completely sprayed, Bane still retained two-thirds of his original strength level.
The opportunity before him was crucial; he had to seize the victory and expand the results, trying his best to keep Bane here.
The special Batarang he secretly threw earlier could autonomously fly by tracing a special signal source. Batman only needed to activate the signal source located on the heel of his boot, and the dart would soar up from not far away, following the calculated trajectory back to the shoe sole, thereby cutting the pipe on its way.
Yes, this dart cost almost as much as a jet fighter, but if it could defeat Bane, it was worth the expense.
The bat-shaped black shadow lunged toward the giant, but instantly flew toward the other side at an even faster speed.
Bane steadied his footing, grabbing two broken pipes behind his head with one hand to prevent further Venom waste, and with the other hand, swatted Batman away like he was swatting a fly.
He lowered his head, looking through the red goggle at the Batarang on the ground. Even though he had reinforced the pipes beforehand, they were still cut so easily. What was this black metal anyway?
But he didn't have time to investigate. Batman had been flung off the rooftop, but that would only win him two seconds at most.
He had to stop the Venom pump first to repair his equipment, which meant he wouldn't be Batman's match, so he needed to retreat.
Therefore, when Batman returned to the rooftop via a grappling hook, there was nothing left.
Besides being a martial arts master, Bane was also DC World's renowned escape artist, almost as capable of unbelievable escapes as Mr. Miracle.
The rooftop was silent, with only messy footprints and some smoking green Venom indicating what had happened here. Batman hadn't even seen Bane's escape route; that massive body seemed to have teleported away.
Batman walked to the center of the rooftop, bent down, picked up his Batarang, and put it back in his utility belt.
"Alfred, can you see my current location?"
"The surveillance network has not been restored, but I can see your transmitter's distance from the Bat Cave, and combined with the Hall of Justice's ranging for triangulation, I have pinpointed your position, sir."
"Good, I just encountered the Antlion Butterfly and Bane. There's been some biochemical leakage here. Come and handle it." Batman's Adam's apple bobbed, and he looked up at the sky, as if it was about to rain.
Ah Fu switched to another frame on Brother Eye and looked closely at the readings: "I'll handle the cleanup, but aren't you going to come back and treat your injuries? Your cervical spine is dislocated, seven ribs are broken, your calf has a fracture, and there is significant internal bleeding in many organs..."
"Let it be, Bane may have run away, but there are still many fugitives in the city." Batman refused to return to the Bat Cave for treatment.
"Alright, sir, but I must remind you, Bane may very well be hired by Joker, this is a trap."
Ah Fu had gotten used to it; these injuries would be enough to incapacitate others, but for Batman, it was just routine.
Every day in routine, his master would suffer much worse injuries, which is why his master spent a large fortune creating the Final Machine.
Despite being distressed, he couldn't persuade his master to change his decision, as always.
"I know."
Indeed, Batman merely acknowledged it, then cut the communication. He crouched down to carefully examine the marks on the ground, then chose a direction and unfurled his cape to pursue.
As he glided through the air, the explosions Bane caused seemed to have heralded the start of chaos, and the dormant Gotham sprang to life once more.
In every corner of the city shrouded in darkness, gunshots seemed to echo, and the firelight from the explosions flashed in various directions from time to time.
This kind of activity was clearly not what Batman wanted to see, and on his way to pursue Bane, there were obviously more troubles ahead.
On the rooftop of another tall building, he heard another familiar laugh, and compared to Joker and Mad Laugh, it was like a person with a stomachache wanting to laugh but not daring to.
"Hehehe... can't let Batman find out, can't let him discover my great invention! Heehee... pfft, no, must hold it, Edgar, hold it... pfft..."
Even Batman, who was peering over the edge of the rooftop, was somewhat helpless. This guy was bouncing around his so-called invention, with a self-provided generator and lighting, making him as conspicuous as a firefly in the night.
Bats are blind, but not Batman. This commotion was akin to a bonfire party, how could it possibly go unnoticed?!