Following Selina's expertly timed swing, the energy whip traced a brilliant arc of crackling light through the air before lashing directly toward Bane's massive form.
Slap!
The continuously extending energy whip struck Bane's back with tremendous force, not only leaving a deep, bleeding gash across his muscular torso but also severing one of the crucial venom supply pipes that fed directly into his enhancement system.
The moment the venom pipeline was destroyed, Bane's ferocious momentum came to an abrupt and dramatic halt.
The sudden reduction in venom supply caused an immediate decline in Bane's overwhelming strength, and his enhanced physical capabilities were entirely dependent on the continuous flow of these chemical enhancements through his body.
Now that one of the primary pipelines supplying the precious venom had been completely severed, his strength would naturally be significantly affected.
Bane's obvious reaction to the pipeline damage was immediately noticed by both vigilantes, and they felt a surge of hope and determination.
They had been targeting Bane's supply system throughout their earlier attacks, but their biggest success until now had been partially damaging some of the tubes, allowing portions of the supplied venom to leak out wastefully.
This was the first time they had managed to completely sever one of the venom pipelines, which represented a direct and significant weakening of Bane's primary advantage.
As long as they could cut off Bane's remaining venom pipeline, they would finally be able to mount an effective counterattack.
With this strategic breakthrough in mind, Selina immediately swung her energy whip again, sending it lashing toward Bane once more. Simultaneously, she began moving in evasive patterns to avoid the continuous flame attacks from Bridget's position.
Slap!
The energy whip descended toward Bane again, but this time the enhanced criminal managed to catch the crackling weapon directly in his massive hand.
Although several venom tubes had been severed, Bane's strength wouldn't decrease instantly due to the chemical reserves already in his system. He gripped Selina's energy whip firmly in his grasp, dark red blood dripping continuously from his hand as the energy construct burned and cut into his palm.
"He caught it?" Selina murmured with surprised amusement.
Seeing the energy whip clenched tightly in Bane's bleeding hand was certainly unexpected, but it didn't cause her any real concern.
Grabbing the energy whip did surprise her initially, but the energy construct wasn't a real physical object that could be held or dragged away from her. She didn't need to worry about Bane gaining control of her weapon through brute force.
Selina's wrist trembled slightly in a practiced motion. The extended energy whip instantly returned to its normal dormant state and completely disappeared from Bane's grasp, leaving him holding nothing but empty air.
"It seems like this is going to take a while," Selina observed with tactical calculation.
Bane's current speed was still too overwhelming for direct confrontation, and the fact that he could even catch her energy whip demonstrated that his reflexes remained superhuman. She would need to maintain evasive tactics for a period of time, waiting for Bane's strength to decline as his venom reserves were depleted.
But Bane wasn't completely mindless despite his chemical-induced rage. Although the venom had severely impaired his rational thinking, his combat instincts were telling him that he needed to act immediately before his condition deteriorated further.
Fixing both eyes on Selina with predatory intensity, Bane launched himself toward her position with a thunderous roar. He understood instinctively that he had to eliminate this particularly dangerous opponent before his strength declined to manageable levels.
Faced with Bane's desperate assault, Selina chose not to attempt direct resistance as Bruce had done earlier. Bruce's painful experience had already demonstrated the price of trying to block Bane's attacks head-on.
Instead, she moved with light, graceful steps, simultaneously avoiding Bridget's flame attacks while maintaining distance from Bane's devastating charges.
"It would be better to deal with Bridget first," Selina decided as she continued her evasive maneuvers.
Moving with quick, precise footwork, she rapidly approached Bridget's position, preparing to render her former friend unconscious before continuing her engagement with Bane.
However, the closer she moved to Bridget's location, the more intense the ambient temperature became, and the threat posed by the flamethrower increased dramatically.
Faced with this challenging tactical situation, Selina could only focus her concentration on dealing with the flamethrower in Bridget's hands while simultaneously avoiding Bane's relentless pursuit.
Her energy whip moved in protective patterns around her body, weaving continuously with her movements to defend against Bane's approaches whenever he managed to close distance.
Observing the ongoing battle from his concealed position, Marcus nodded with genuine satisfaction as both Bruce and Selina demonstrated the advanced fighting techniques they had learned during their training.
Perhaps because they had become so proficient with their combat stances during practice, their adaptation rate to real combat was remarkably fast. After just a brief period of adjustment, they had already adapted to fighting in situations where they were evenly matched or even at a disadvantage against their opponents.
This type of combat experience would greatly enhance both vigilantes' fighting abilities, allowing them to become more efficient and agile in battle while using minimal effort to deal with various types of enemies.
Soon Selina had approached close enough to Bridget to attempt her knockout plan, but just as she was about to render her former friend unconscious, Bane's attack interrupted her approach.
THUMP!
Faced with Bane's devastating blow aimed directly at her position, Selina had no choice but to abandon her attempt to incapacitate Bridget and dive away in a different direction.
Selina's evasive reaction was perfectly timed and executed, but Bridget wasn't nearly as fortunate. She was directly caught in the impact zone of Bane's missed attack and was knocked over by the tremendous force, tumbling to the ground nearby.
"That was way too close," Selina gasped with relief. "This guy is attacking without any regard for his teammate safety!"
Looking at Bridget's fallen form, Selina couldn't help but feel concerned for her former friend's wellbeing.
Just as she was processing this development, Bane's next attack struck the ground with tremendous force, and the heavy impact sent a shower of debris and rubble scattering in all directions around the impact site.
Bridget, who was still lying dazed on the ground, was unfortunately struck by a particularly large piece of debris. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell completely unconscious on the ground.
"Well, I suppose that takes care of that problem," Selina said with a mixture of relief and dark amusement.
Seeing her objective accomplished through pure accident, Selina chuckled quietly and began concentrating entirely on responding to Bane's continued attacks.
On the other side of the battlefield, Bruce had finally recovered from his earlier devastating encounter with Bane after taking time to rest and assess his injuries.
"That guy's strength is absolutely overwhelming," Bruce said, gently rubbing his chest where he could still feel the lingering effects of Bane's punch. "But now he should only have one pipeline remaining."
Bane's venom supply system was now reduced to just the single pipeline feeding into his chest area. As time continued to pass, Bane's strength would definitely decline rapidly without the massive quantities of enhancement drug he had been receiving.
When that inevitable decline reached a critical point, they would only need to sever his last remaining venom pipe to completely defeat him.
Of course, before he could focus on eliminating Bane, Bruce still had to deal with the cryogenic weapon specialist who continued threatening them from range.
"Selina, hold your position for a little while longer!" Bruce called out to his partner. "I'll take care of this guy first!"
With that declaration, Bruce rushed toward Fries while brandishing his rapier with renewed determination. Selina was currently under tremendous pressure from Bane's relentless attacks, and Bruce needed to eliminate the freezing ray threat as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, without Bane's interference and protection, Fries wasn't particularly challenging for Bruce to handle one-on-one. He simply needed to remain alert and avoid the dangerous rays fired by the freeze gun.
It didn't take long before Fries—whose entire body was surrounded by ultra-low temperature effects from his own weapon—was knocked unconscious by a precise punch from Bruce.
"That guy's body temperature is way too low," Bruce muttered, glancing down at Fries' motionless form on the ground.
Bruce flexed his striking hand gingerly, feeling as though his knuckles were on the verge of frostbite from the brief contact with Fries' supercooled body.
After kicking the dangerous freeze gun well out of reach, Bruce turned and charged directly at Bane. Now he and Selina could engage their primary opponent together with coordinated tactics.
The rapier emanating spatial fluctuations and the crackling energy whip attacked Bane from both front and rear, with both vigilantes wielding their respective weapons to assault the enhanced criminal whose strength was steadily declining.
Bane's physical capabilities had been decreasing consistently, but suddenly finding himself under coordinated attack from both opponents, he desperately tried to resist their combined assault using every remaining ounce of his fading power.
However, with his strength constantly diminishing due to venom depletion, there was no way he could effectively withstand attacks from both vigilantes simultaneously. It didn't take long before his body was covered with cuts and wounds, and even his final venom pipeline was severed completely, ending his supply of enhancement drugs entirely.
Faced with this desperate situation, Bane—who had begun to regain some measure of rational thought as the chemical haze cleared from his mind—made the tactical decision to retreat while he still possessed the capability.
He turned and rushed toward the area's exit, breaking through the vigilantes' coordinated containment. As he passed by the unconscious forms of Bridget and Fries, he scooped both of them up and fled toward the distance with his remaining superhuman speed.
Regarding Bane's escape with his allies, Bruce and Selina found themselves completely helpless to prevent it. Although Bane's strength was rapidly fading, his movement speed was still superior to both of theirs. As long as Bane was determined to retreat, they simply didn't have the capability to stop him.