"Alfred, what's wrong with me?" Bruce felt weak all over.
"There's no butler here."
A voice came from not far away, but Bruce's vision was spinning, and even his neck wouldn't obey him.
"Don't move.
You've been unconscious for several days, and your spine hasn't been reset yet.
You mustn't strain yourself."
An elderly doctor with white hair, wearing a pair of small round glasses and a white coat, appeared before Bruce.
"Where am I?"
"Still in Gotham.
I don't know exactly where.
I'm from out of town too.
Bane ordered me to treat you, but your injuries were so serious that I haven't dared to act rashly."
Bruce heard the sound of a television.
"What are they saying on TV?
What's happening to Gotham?"
"Nothing good.
Gotham is cut off from the outside world.
Bane placed a nuclear bomb in the stadium.
Everything's gone to hell.
Lots of poor folks are storming the mansions of the rich, looting everything, including your manor.
Looks like you're broke too—no money, no stocks."
The doctor sounded a little regretful, probably upset that he wouldn't be getting any payment.
Total defeat.
Though the situation wasn't exactly as the doctor described, Bruce had managed to save his assets but had lost the city.
After Kid's warning, Bruce had quickly moved most of his shares to Alfred's name, keeping only a tiny portion for himself, so his financial losses were minimal.
But in his fight against Bane, he suffered a crushing defeat, the price being the loss of Gotham.
"Why?
Why is Bane so fixated on Gotham?"
Batman couldn't understand it.
The League of Shadows should be about assassinations and stealth.
Why stir up such massive chaos?
"You don't know?
About Bane and the daughter of Ra's al Ghul?
His relationship with the League of Shadows' princess wasn't ordinary."
The daughter of Ra's al Ghul?
Bruce recalled the image of a beautiful woman—long black hair like a river of stars, skin as soft as silk, features as flawless as a Greek sculpture.
Her name was Talia.
During the grueling ninja training, she had been the only splash of color in his world, like a refreshing spring in a scorching summer.
They had even been lovers for a time.
But in the end, Bruce chose to return to Gotham and cut ties with her completely.
"What does Talia have to do with this?"
Bruce still didn't get it.
"Because Bane was always her protector.
You see, Talia wasn't raised by Ra's al Ghul.
Her mother was kidnapped while pregnant with her and thrown into the infamous Middle Eastern prison known as the Pit."
The doctor spoke slowly.
"No one ever escaped the Pit.
Its walls had a few protruding stones prisoners could attempt to climb, but there was an unreachable gap higher up—a cruel joke by the builders.
Over the centuries, countless inmates fell to their deaths trying.
Until one day, over a decade ago."
The story unfolded, and Bruce finally started to piece together the true history between him and Bane.
"Ra's al Ghul's wife, exiled to the Pit, met a boy born there—Bane.
Talia was born inside that hellhole.
Perhaps out of shared misery, Bane devoted himself to protecting the little girl.
That lasted until Talia was nine years old, when a group of madmen tried to harm them.
Bane fought the entire prison to shield the mother and daughter.
But in the end, her mother took her own life rather than suffer further.
Bane, grievously wounded, covered Talia's escape.
They say that day, Bane fought everyone in the Pit alone.
And by some miracle, nine-year-old Talia managed to leap across the impassable gap that had defeated men for centuries, and climbed out to freedom."
"Then Ra's al Ghul returned to the Pit with his men to retrieve his wife's body, but he hadn't expected that the brave warrior who protected his daughter was still alive.
Though seriously injured and suffering daily agony, Bane survived.
Ra's al Ghul brought him back to the League of Shadows, trained him, and made Bane the strongest warrior—the ultimate shield to protect his daughter.
Before you appeared, Talia would only speak to two men—Bane and Ra's al Ghul."
The doctor suddenly paused and gave Bruce a meaningful look.
In his eyes, it was understandable that Talia would choose Bruce over Bane—Bruce was better-looking after all.
"Bane is jealous of you."
Bruce stayed silent.
Just because of this?
Because of jealousy, Bane wanted to destroy Gotham and massacre millions?
"Don't think of Bane as merely extreme.
Talia was his sole reason for living.
Maybe back in the Pit, Talia was the only light in his dark world—the flower he swore to protect with his life.
Bane is a man's man.
He protects the ones he loves in his own way."
The doctor even seemed a little admiring of Bane, despite everything he had done.
After all, as Bane's attending physician and a senior medical expert from the League of Shadows, this unremarkable-looking doctor had a unique perspective on things.
"Then why didn't he just kill me?
Why drag Gotham into this?"
"It's obvious.
He hates you so much he wants to torture you in the cruelest way possible.
He craves your death, but killing you outright would only sadden Talia.
Since he can't kill you, he chose to destroy what you cherish most—your city."
The doctor's analysis was so thorough he seemed more like a gossip show host than a medical expert.
Bruce had nothing more to say.
With things as they were, he was powerless to change anything.
He couldn't even feel his limbs now, let alone fight.
Bane had won.
"Stop sighing.
Your injuries are serious, but not beyond saving.
With me around, I'll have you walking again in three months.
The treatment's going to hurt like hell though.
Afraid of pain?"
Batman remained silent.
"You don't have to be so pessimistic.
There are still good people in Gotham.
Just because Batman is down doesn't mean no one will stand up."
The doctor, sensing Bruce's spirit sinking, tried to encourage him.
"Isn't there still Kaitou Kid?
That kid's got more style than you, that's for sure.
He sent out a notice saying he's going to steal Bane's nuclear bomb on Christmas Eve."
"??!"
What?!
Bruce's eyes widened.
The playful phantom thief who loved sneaking up behind him?
Bruce immediately felt worried—this wasn't some joke they could afford.
The doctor saw through Bruce's concern.
"He's not joking around.
Kid has his own way of doing things.
Right now, he's rallied all the gangs in Gotham, driving Bane crazy.
Who would've thought that the same hoodlums who used to cause so much trouble are now becoming Gotham's defenders?
Fascinating, really.
I wonder how Kid managed to convince them."
In truth, Kid had succeeded precisely because he fully understood that Bane would detonate the nuke.
Batman figured it out too: "Because Bane will definitely set off the bomb."
At a moment like this, every brave soul in Gotham had to stand up.
Batman realized his past efforts weren't in vain—most people in Gotham were still good.
In times of crisis, true hearts would be revealed, and Kid had managed to channel all that hidden goodwill, taking over Batman's role for now.
Thank you.
Bruce could only murmur it silently in his heart.
He owed Kid a debt of gratitude—before and even more so now.