What Bad Thoughts Can Batman Have 99

## Chapter 99: King vs. King

Bane often felt like he was shouting in a deserted wilderness.

The misty fog coalesced into waves and oceans, undulating in the pitch-black night.

His life felt like a lonely island in the vast sea.

He ran, he leaped, he soared, he fought his way through the vortex of clouds and rain, believing he would grasp that ray of light.

But everything still fell silent.

He felt himself falling.

Just like…

Then, now.

A surge of furious rage.

The plants erupted from his body once again, an explosion of growth. His muscles, wilted and withered, drained by the plants clinging to him in just a few seconds. But the next second, fueled by the venom, his muscles instantly recovered, inflated, twisted, more robust than before.

“Little Red, can’t you control the green stuff on him?”

Harley whispered to Poison Ivy. “I can’t do magic on him like this.”

Poison Ivy automatically understood her nonsensical words. “I don’t know, but I’m afraid not. These plants have undergone some changes I don’t fully understand. They don’t seem like plants anymore…but more like a part of him.”

She said hesitantly. “It’s part of an unstable chain reaction. In fact, I think Bane is using these plants differently from how I controlled them before—but regardless, it’s clear.”

Poison Ivy said. “He’s turned himself into a malevolent witch.”

“Strictly speaking, he can now be considered a mage. In his use of elemental forces, he can even…”

Before she could finish, she saw the plants curl around Bane’s body, then wrap around his flesh like muscle fibers, transforming into woody textures.

The next second, his arm whipped out like a nine-section whip, sending half the building crashing down like building blocks with a deafening roar. Bane’s roar shook the ground.

“Batman—face me!!!”

“Witch, but the main attack is still with his fists.”

Harley said.

“Heehee!”

Bane heard Batman’s chuckle, a contemptuous, unrestrained taunt.

He retaliated violently. His twisting, extending fists, carrying unparalleled force, only landed on empty air.

Bane was enraged, his rage unyielding. He rationally controlled his fury, his half-body responding to him. His arms seemed to have lengthened slightly, but definitely not thinned.

Fueled by his ever-growing rage, his punches became more graceful. Rather than direct attacks, they were like fluttering ribbons, seemingly lacking any killing power.

But the shattered bricks and the ground, cracked like tofu by his whip-like arms, constantly reminded everyone:

This wasn’t some lover’s touch.

Harley Quinn commented. “Like a whip being used in a kinky game to spank a—”

Poison Ivy expertly tied her up like a dumpling.

Deadshot raised his shockwave weapon and aimed it at Bane, who was still attacking the invisible Batman. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Mr. Freeze stepped in front of him, holding his freeze gun.

“What do you mean?”

He asked.

“Shh!”

Mr. Freeze said. “Quiet, gunslinger. Don’t interrupt their fight. Haven’t you noticed the Claws have all retreated?”

“I know.”

Deadshot replied. “But I thought it was just because they weren’t qualified to engage in close combat. Don’t worry, I’m confident, even with them fighting, I won’t miss a shot.”

Then Deadshot saw all the Arkham folks, except for Clayface, who was cosplaying Robin, staring at him with indifference.

“What? What’s wrong with you? What’s the meaning of this?”

“I think…”

Poison Ivy said, a vine rising from the ground nearby, weaving into a chair. She hung the tied-up, gurgling Harley Quinn on it, then sat down on the chair herself:

“You’re better off staying out of it.”

Deadshot was about to say something, when a hand rested on his shoulder.

“We’ve worked together for a while now, Floyd.”

The Ventriloquist stood behind him, the little old man hunched over, but not looking at him.

“I hear you were born in Gotham, but spent most of your time elsewhere. Maybe you don’t understand things here in Gotham. So let me explain.”

He spoke in a somewhat dramatic tone.

“Don’t get involved in their fight.”

His glasses reflected Bane, who was still swinging his fists.

“After all…”

“It’s ‘King vs. King,’ isn’t it?”

Mr. Freeze interjected, his dislocated arm snapping back into place with a crack. He forcefully and expressionlessly put it back together.

“What the hell is going on?”

Deadshot said. “Batman hired us to just stand here and cheer?”

He turned to Catwoman. “Shouldn’t we give Batman some long-range support?”

Catwoman said hesitantly. “I think so too…”

“You think so too, right, Killer Croc?” Deadshot turned to Killer Croc. “What the hell is this? King vs. King, it’s too—”

“No.”

Killer Croc, who seemed to love money, said to Deadshot. “You should let Batman fight one-on-one. If outsiders get involved, it’s just disrespectful.”

Deadshot fell silent.

For the first time, he seriously re-examined these teammates who stood beside him.

He originally thought that a guy like Killer Croc, who loved money so much, would agree with him, but he was wrong.

Then, in an instant, he suddenly had an epiphany, realizing the nature of these people.

In the moonlight, he saw the shadows of those Arkham folks stretched out, projecting distorted, crawling beastly shapes on the ground.

This wasn’t a group of people at all, it was a pack of beasts.

A pack of wild animals practicing the law of the jungle in modern society!

So Deadshot understood:

This was truly a bunch of crazies, he hadn’t realized it before. He’d been hanging out with them for too long, making money together, being bought off together, being coerced together, watching them being trained.

He always felt like they had shed their mysterious veil and were just ordinary people, like him.

But he was wrong. Wrong in a big way.

So he lowered his gun and whispered softly. “What kind of monsters have you become the leader of, Batman?”

He murmured. “He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”

He looked down at the quickly flashing black shadow. “You, terrible dragon.”

“You dragon!”

The righteous warrior Bane roared. “Come out, face me, how dare you—”

His movements stopped the next second.

He saw black mist rising in front of him, a giant dragon appearing before him.

Its lower half was a ball of black mist, with a few rubber tires vaguely visible within. Its upper half was a green, monstrous dinosaur maw.

The venom tubes were connected to its head.

Dinosaur claws, adorned with car parts, stretched out, black mist spreading from its back like outstretched wings.

He heard that low, gravelly voice say. “I have answered the call.”

So now it’s… warrior… challenging the dragon!

Wu wu wu, thanks to the great evil god riding a horse for the reward!

(End of Chapter)

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