The two vigilantes quietly approached Arkham Asylum, moving through the shadows with practiced stealth. Although the imposing structure looked extremely ominous in the darkness of night—like a massive abandoned building left to decay—there were clear signs that it remained very much in operation.
The flickering lights visible through grimy windows, combined with the strange, disturbing cries echoing from within the facility, made it abundantly clear to anyone observing that Arkham Asylum had definitely not been abandoned by its administrators or patients.
Bruce and Selina concealed themselves in the deeper shadows surrounding the asylum's perimeter and waited patiently for an extended period, carefully scanning their surroundings for any trace of the enhanced Beastmen they had encountered during their previous visit to this area.
"It seems like we just had bad luck last time," Selina concluded after their thorough surveillance revealed nothing suspicious. "There don't appear to be any Beastmen active in this area tonight."
She had been hiding in the darkness alongside Bruce, conducting a methodical search of their immediate surroundings, but there was absolutely no sign of the dangerous enhanced criminals they had been expecting to encounter.
"Bad luck?" Bruce repeated quietly, his gaze shifting toward Arkham Asylum as another series of blood-curdling screams echoed from within its walls. "When my mother was still alive, I remember that Arkham wasn't anything like what we're seeing now..."
The asylum held deep personal significance for Bruce, as it had been established by his mother's family and remained part of the Wayne family's extensive property holdings. Martha Wayne had maintained a strong connection to the facility and its mission of treating Gotham's most troubled individuals.
Although Bruce had only visited the facility a handful of times during his childhood, he still retained clear impressions of what the place had been like during those earlier years. He distinctly remembered that when he and his mother had come here together during his youth, Arkham had been a much more peaceful and professionally managed institution, certainly nothing like the source of horrifying screams that it had apparently become.
"Should we sneak inside and investigate what's happening?" Bruce asked after a period of internal struggle, his voice barely above a whisper.
"What?" Selina turned to stare at Bruce in genuine surprise, her eyes widening behind her mask. "I can't believe you just suggested that!"
Although she had been working alongside Bruce for many months now, he had always approached their vigilante activities with the cautious, methodical attitude of someone much older and more conservative. Bruce never took unnecessary risks or stepped beyond the carefully planned boundaries of their patrol activities.
But now she was hearing words from Bruce's mouth that seemed completely contrary to his usual character and decision-making patterns, which caught her completely off guard.
"Arkham was established by my mother's family," Bruce explained, his voice carrying a mixture of personal responsibility and growing determination. "I will never allow serious problems to develop here without investigating them personally."
Hearing this explanation, Selina raised her eyebrows with a knowing smile. This was exactly the kind of adventure she had been hoping for—she was absolutely full of curiosity about this eerie, mysterious madhouse and what secrets it might be hiding.
"Then let's go!" she agreed enthusiastically.
As soon as the words left her mouth, both vigilantes moved with practiced efficiency, easily scaling the asylum's perimeter wall and dropping silently into the facility's grounds.
"Listen carefully," Bruce said as they prepared to enter the main building. "No matter what we encounter inside, we both need to be ready to retreat immediately if the situation becomes too dangerous."
"Don't worry about that," Selina assured him confidently. "I've always kept our teacher's strategic lessons in mind, and I've already prepared multiple escape routes and contingency plans."
The two continued their quiet conversation as they approached the asylum's main structure, moving with the fluid grace that came from year-round training and conditioning.
Climbing walls and scaling buildings had become second nature to both young vigilantes after months of intensive physical preparation. Combined with the enhanced strength and agility provided by their advanced combat suits, their movement capabilities had been improved to unprecedented levels.
For them, scaling the asylum's walls was no more difficult than walking across level ground—a routine physical activity that required minimal effort or concentration.
"These two are certainly entertaining," Marcus chuckled to himself as he observed their progress from his aerial vantage point. "But I'm afraid the creature waiting below isn't going to be patient much longer."
Marcus had already detected the presence of a dangerous enhanced individual lurking in the depths beneath Arkham Asylum through his supernatural perception abilities. The creature's energy signature was quite different from the Beastmen they had encountered previously.
"This one's strength is quite impressive," Marcus murmured with interest. "I'm curious to see how my students will handle this particular challenge."
While speaking, his physical form gradually faded from visibility as he shifted into void mode, allowing him to phase through solid matter and follow Bruce and Selina into the asylum itself.
He had just materialized within the facility when both young vigilantes successfully entered the main building. The strange, disturbing screams continued to echo throughout the madhouse's corridors, creating an atmosphere of dread and psychological tension.
"Have you noticed something important?" Bruce said softly, his voice barely audible above the ambient sounds. "Those screams seem to be coming from somewhere below us, not from the patient rooms on these floors."
"You're absolutely right," Selina agreed with a nod. "We've been searching for quite a while now, and we still haven't found any trace of whoever is making those sounds."
Both vigilantes glanced down at the floor beneath their feet, then looked at each other with growing curiosity and concern about what they might discover.
They had been exploring the madhouse for an extended period, systematically searching every floor and corridor of the main structure. They had investigated patient rooms, administrative offices, medical facilities, and common areas, but they couldn't locate the source of the strange screaming that continued to reverberate throughout the building.
But now, having thoroughly searched all the accessible floors above ground level, the disturbing sounds had become increasingly clear and distinct, as if whoever was producing them was located directly beneath their current position.
"How about we investigate the lower levels?" Selina suggested, pointing toward a staircase that led downward. "I can see stairs going down over there."
Since there was no one present on any of the upper floors they had searched, the logical conclusion was that the source of the disturbance had to be located on a lower level. Both young vigilantes were now burning with curiosity, desperate to discover who or what was hiding in the depths below.
Behind them, Marcus followed silently with an amused smile on his face, completely invisible to his students.
If they continued much further, they would soon encounter the enhanced individual he had detected—but this particular opponent was obviously different from the previous Beastmen they had faced. This creature's body hadn't undergone the massive physical transformations that characterized typical Beastman mutations.
He still maintained the basic appearance of an ordinary human being, though his sanity appeared to be gradually deteriorating under the influence of constantly inhaling some form of toxic gas or chemical enhancement.
"Very interesting," Marcus said quietly to himself. "This individual is indeed one of Bruce's destined opponents. I believe one of Bruce's most challenging future enemies fits this exact description. If I'm not mistaken, this should be the one called Bane."
Bane was destined to become one of Bruce's most formidable and persistent opponents—a highly intelligent and physically devastating enemy who would prove extremely difficult to defeat through conventional means.
As Bruce and Selina continued their descent into the asylum's underground levels, they soon encountered the source of the mysterious sounds.
Bane was currently in the process of inhaling toxic gas through an elaborate system of tubes and breathing apparatus. His entire body was wrapped in a complex network of pipes and delivery systems, and his face was covered with what appeared to be an advanced gas mask. The strange screaming sounds they had been hearing were actually emanating from the machinery connected to his breathing apparatus.
"Is this... a Beastman?" Bruce asked quietly, immediately recognizing certain familiar characteristics.
The moment both vigilantes laid eyes on Bane, they instinctively classified him as some type of enhanced criminal, though his appearance didn't exactly match their previous encounters.
Although there were significant differences between Bane's size and physical configuration compared to the Beastmen in their memories, they could still detect certain similarities that suggested he belonged to the same general category of enhanced individuals.
Just as they were analyzing the situation, Bane—who had appeared completely motionless and possibly unconscious—suddenly opened his eyes and fixed his gaze directly on the two intruders.
"Well, well," Bane said in a voice that carried both intelligence and menace. "If it isn't Gotham's famous vigilantes. How convenient that you've decided to visit me tonight."
While speaking, Bane began moving toward them with deliberate, measured steps. As he moved, his body produced audible cracking and popping sounds, as if his joints and muscles were gradually loosening up from a period of extended immobility.
"Since you've taken the trouble to come all this way," Bane continued with obvious anticipation, "it seems like the perfect time to test my enhanced capabilities against your much-celebrated skills."
While delivering this threat, Bane took a deep, deliberate breath, drawing a massive quantity of toxic gas into his body through his breathing apparatus.
The next moment produced a transformation that shocked both young vigilantes completely. As Bane continued inhaling the poisonous gas, his body began growing visibly stronger and more muscular at a rate that was clearly visible to the naked eye.
"What's happening to this guy?" Selina gasped in disbelief. "And that stuff he's breathing should be highly toxic, shouldn't it?"
The realization hit her like a physical blow. This individual was actually using deadly poison as some form of enhancement drug, treating lethal toxins as if they were beneficial supplements.
Was this person deliberately trying to kill himself in the most painful way possible?
Not only Selina, but even Bruce found himself completely stunned by what they were witnessing. It wasn't as though he had never encountered toxic substances designed to enhance human capabilities before.
He was familiar with various chemical enhancements, including the highly dangerous compound known as Venom—a substance that could dramatically increase physical strength by converting the user's calcium into raw muscle power.
But that type of enhancement was fundamentally unstable and self-destructive. Even if someone using Venom managed to win their immediate battle, they would inevitably pay for that victory with their life as the chemical burned through their skeletal system.
But this particular individual seemed to be operating under completely different rules.
Bane was inhaling toxic gas with reckless abandon, and judging by his confident demeanor and obvious experience with the process, these deadly chemicals appeared to have no negative effects on him whatsoever.
"Since I'm finally able to move around freely," Bane announced with growing excitement, "let's use the two of you as test subjects for my enhanced capabilities."
As soon as he finished speaking, Bane disappeared from his original position with explosive speed, launching himself directly at Bruce and Selina with devastating force.
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