The batmobile burned with flames, crashing in the darkness before dawn.
Batman's spine was broken by a knee strike from Bane, who then lifted him and threw him to the ground.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
A series of batarangs shot towards Bane, but his towering muscles simply ignored these weak batarangs. He walked step by step towards Batman, speaking condescendingly:
"Dramatic gadgets and illusions can only fool inexperienced outsiders."
"But we are not ordinary people, are we, Bruce Wayne?"
Saying this, Bane turned his head to glance at Connors, who had walked closer. His voice was muffled by his mask:
"It's rare for Gotham to have someone show their true face."
Bane had already walked in front of Batman and raised one foot high:
"If you're here to help him, you better watch closely, because you'll end up the same way."
Connors nodded honestly:
"Awesome."
Bane didn't understand, but that didn't stop him from stomping down hard.
If this stomp landed, Batman, with his broken spine, would only have a dead end.
At the critical moment, a grappling hook shot out, pulling Batman away from under Bane's foot. But Bane also used the force of his stomp to leap up.
Although he was a mountain of muscle, his agility seemed maxed out. He directly jumped from a height towards where the grappling hook was attached.
"If you need help, press 1."
Connors' voice sounded next to Batman's ear. Just as he was wondering what that sentence meant, Connors had already made his move.
The grappling hook was originally attached to a rock not far away, but at this moment, the rock shifted position inexplicably, causing Batman to change direction as well.
Bane's leap missed. When he wanted to continue, he found his feet had sunk into a quagmire.
Where did the quagmire by the lake come from? This doubt flashed in his mind. Then he hunched over, using all four limbs, charging towards Batman like a Beast.
But that rock changed position again, making Bane stop with a frown. Then a pair of scarlet eyes stared at Connors:
"I said, dramatic..."
"Okay, okay, I get it, I get it." Connors said in a tone as if coaxing a child, and then continued with his setup—the setup of a Master of Tricks.
All his life, Bane had been treated like a demon by others. This was the first time he had been spoken to in such a tone. An unnamed anger rose in his heart, and he prepared to kill this guy who kept interfering with him.
Seeing that Batman and he were hiding behind the car they had just driven, Bane strode forward, grabbing the muscle car's chassis with one hand and flipping it over.
However, to his surprise, there was no sign of either Connors or Batman in front of him.
"Your illusion is really good," Bane praised sincerely, and then lifted the muscle car with both hands again.
After he frantically ploughed the entire surrounding ground, he still didn't find any sign of the two, as if they had disappeared into thin air.
The flat ground was now so soft you could practically plant vegetables in it, and the muscle car was completely torn apart.
Bane was panting heavily. He even jumped into the lake and thrashed around, but there was no one hiding in the water either, as if they had evaporated into thin air.
"Dude, if you don't leave soon, I'm going to be exposed..."
Connors watched Bane, who looked like he wanted to dig three feet deep to find him, and muttered inwardly.
He initially hid Batman behind the muscle car. When Bane flipped the car, they started moving towards the burning batmobile.
Until now, he and Batman had been hiding behind the burning flames of the batmobile. Using his ability as the Master of Tricks, he had prevented Bane from seeing him.
But as time passed, the flames of the batmobile burned weaker and weaker. In a little while, they would no longer be able to completely hide him.
Fortunately, Bane finally lost patience. He left the area, then suddenly returned, and after several attempts of still not seeing anyone, he finally left for good.
By this time, the flames of the batmobile were also almost on the verge of going out.
"Your car isn't very fire-resistant. Next time, I suggest using a more durable material, like oak," Connors said to the listless Batman.
Wayne gave him a weak glance and pressed a button.
The lake surface rippled. A sloped elevator platform broke through layers of mud, emerging from the bottom of the water. The cover blocking the entrance automatically opened.
"..."
Batman didn't speak. Connors understood his intention and carried him on his back towards the entrance.
In the Batcave, the butler Alfred watched the two people coming down from the elevator platform. Having already known what happened outside, he quickly pushed a stretcher over.
Soon, the fully automatic operating table in the Batcave began its work. The butler Alfred smiled at Connors and extended a hand:
"Master Patterson, would you like me to prepare a bathrobe and cigarettes for you?"
"...Hey."
As soon as Connors heard this, he knew that this white-haired but quite robust old butler was joking with him, and he shook the other man's hand.
The previous few times, after he finished his business, he had been half-naked, lighting a cigarette afterwards, and had stared at Batman eye-to-eye.
As the man behind Batman, the butler Alfred must have known about these things long ago.
"I came to him to solve a problem—don't worry, I'm not here to fight him," Connors explained his purpose. "But running into Bane was truly unexpected. It seems the immediate problem to solve now is the issue of a Batman replacement."
Gotham City could go one night without Batman, but not for several consecutive days. Otherwise, those restless elements would definitely cause trouble.
The butler Alfred knew this, and Connors, having read the comics, naturally knew it too.
"Let's arrange it after he wakes up, Master Patterson. Please rest in the drawing-room for a while," the butler Alfred said, gesturing to lead the way.
"No need... I found there seem to be toxins in his body," Connors refused the butler's kind offer, saying words that immediately put the other man on alert.
Wayne had spores in his body, containing the aura of the Green... Did he go to Poison Ivy and get attacked by her?
Connors looked at Bruce Wayne, who was lying motionless on the operating table. With a thought, countless pale green spores flew out from his mouth and nose, flew into Connors' hand, and then turned grey-white, completely deactivated.
Seeing this, Alfred felt relieved. He had just been worried that this man would take the opportunity to do something bad, but now it seemed he had been overly suspicious.
Time passed quickly. Thanks to his strong physique, Bruce Wayne woke up at nine o'clock in the morning. His first words upon seeing Connors were:
"How did you do that?"
He still remembered the series of incredible actions after Connors appeared.
Want to learn? I'll teach you... Connors laughed and changed the subject:
"Compared to this, I think you need to worry more about the problem of Gotham's successor, right?"
"I'll give you the daytime to solve this problem, and then tonight I'll discuss another problem with you, about the destruction of the World."
After saying this, Connors turned and left Wayne Manor. Before leaving, he conveniently borrowed a car from the butler Alfred instead of walking.
He had waited half a day just to say this one sentence to Wayne. Next, he had another thing to do:
After proposing to the star singer Xue Xi that he would live off her, her condition for agreeing was that Connors must clear the waterway again and accompany her to watch today's circus performance.
Clearing the waterway was already completed before leaving, leaving only the matter of the circus performance.
There wasn't much to see at the circus, and Connors wasn't interested. But the name of the circus was not simple, "Flying Graysons".
Following the development which, although slightly off, generally conformed to the comic plot, perhaps when he returned tonight, he would bring a son back for Wayne.