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Bane didn't speak as he stepped forward.
The surrounding laughter, once loud and arrogant, gradually ceased, falling into complete silence.
It was as if the entire world had frozen.
The arrogant, unrestrained smiles from moments before vanished, replaced by serious and composed expressions. Even slight fear.
Bane didn't just demand attention, he commanded it, and everyone could feel the invisible weight of his presence.
Even among his own followers, Bane was known to kill anyone who made a mistake without hesitation.
"You wanted to see me?" Bane's voice was a low hoarse rasp, cold enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
His sharp gaze swept across Talia al Ghul and Barbara Gordon before settling on Allen.
The air around them seemed to thicken, crackling with an unspoken challenge.
Talia looked delicate like she was barely holding it together.
Her body trembled slightly, but whether from fear or anger at Allen, it was hard to tell.
Barbara Gordon also shook, her body tense, as if she were fighting against the flood of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.
In the distance, James Gordon raised his gun hoping to intervene to save his daughter, but then he lowered it again… the weight of the situation pressing down on him.
This was no longer about him, nor just about his daughter.
The fate of Gotham hung in the balance, and he couldn't risk the lives of everyone else for the sake of one.
The pain in his eyes wasn't something that could be faked, however.
"What do you look like under that mask?" Allen asked Bane, voice steady, betraying none of the tension in the air.
"Do you take it off every time you want to eat or drink? What about when kissing a girl? I mean, I don't know if you swing that way, so it could be kissing a guy?"
"Why don't you take it off now and let us all see what you look like?"
Silence.
A deathly silence followed his words, hanging in the air like a charged wire.
Though many had wondered about Bane's appearance beneath that menacing mask, no one had dared to ask him directly.
Let alone tell him to take it off.
That was suicide.
Almost instinctively, every eye turned to Allen as if he had already signed his death warrant.
Even Barbara Gordon couldn't help but glance up, wide-eyed in disbelief.
'Is this bastard crazy?' she thought, her mind racing.
'If he betrayed us, why the hell is he provoking Bane now?'
"Heh."
Bane let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a snort.
He raised his hand and brushed it across his mask, as if savoring the moment.
"If you want to see, come take it off yourself… if you can that is."
"So, I have to do it myself? How troublesome."
Allen muttered under his breath, clearly unperturbed by the venom in Bane's voice.
He let go of Talia and Barbara Gordon and took a slow step forward, walking directly toward Bane.
His demeanor was unshakable, even in the face of the killing intent radiating from the massive brute in front of him.
'Idiot. He's walking straight into death.'
Some in the crowd eagerly anticipated Allen's fate, while others couldn't bear to watch, knowing what was surely coming.
Allen, however, was calm, moving with an almost casual confidence.
Step by step, Allen walked forward, unfazed by the weight of Bane's glare.
He stopped right in front of the hulking monster and looked up at him with a polite, almost amused smile.
"So, here I am,"
Bane's gaze darkened, his eyes narrowing as they shifted past Allen and locked onto Talia al Ghul.
For a brief, fleeting moment, there was a flicker of recognition… some unspoken understanding between them.
Talia's eyes met his, and for the first time, she lowered her head.
To Bane, it looked like a silent nod.
Bane didn't quite understand why Talia didn't want to reveal herself now, but whatever it was, her message was clear.
"I'll be taking this off now,"
As Allen reached toward Bane's mask, Bane's expression twisted into something savage.
His massive arms bulged with tension, veins popping as his fists clenched, and in an instant, his fist went through the air.
At this close range, with that much power behind it, Bane was sure he could crush Allen's skull with ease.
Even Bruce Wayne, trained by the League of Assassins, was no match for him.
He had broken the Bat himself.
As for Allen? He didn't even register as a threat.
All Bane wanted was to kill him, to follow Talia's orders. He could tell Allen had done something to her.
That only increased his anger.
But just as Bane's fist was about to land, he suddenly realized, Allen had disappeared.
He had closed in and delivered a kick to the chest.
A sharp pain exploded in Bane's chest.
"What the hell?" he gasped, stumbling back several steps.
'How does someone so lean have that much power?'
Bane slammed his left foot into the ground to steady himself, preparing to retaliate, but Allen was already gone, again.
'Where?'
His eyes scanned the area wildly.
The crowd on both sides stood frozen, stunned into disbelief.
'Did I imagine that? Did he really kick Bane back?'
And then…
Allen jumped.
Leaping straight into the air, higher than any normal person could possibly reach.
"Above!" someone shouted from the crowd, voice trembling.
Bane, ever the warrior, reacted quickly, snapping his head upward.
Under the bright sun, a silhouette descended toward him.
The moment Bane had thrown that punch, Allen had already mimicked him.
But as for Bane's fighting skill? That wasn't necessary anymore. He didn't mimic that, only his strength.
That was because, Allen had already mastered the fighting moves of [Catwoman], [Batgirl], and [Talia al Ghul].
Bane's techniques, grounded in the League of Assassins teachings, were predictable.
[Tenfold]
With a power ten times greater than Bane's, Allen launched himself skyward in a single, effortless jump.
Smiling down at Bane, he cheekily spoke up:
"Bane, you seem a bit 'down' today? Are you okay?"
The sunlight framed Allen in light as he descended.
And in the next moment, his fist collided with Bane's skull.
Boom!
The impact was so brutal, that the stone beneath Bane cracked.
Bane's bones shattered, his legs crumpled beneath him, his arms bent grotesquely from the force.
Bane's face slammed into the ground with a sickening thud, the echoes reverberating through the air.
The breeze stirred, carrying the faintest scent of blood.
Under the harsh sun, everyone stood in shocked silence, watching Bane's grotesquely twisted body lying motionless on the ground beside Allen.
The sight was enough to make even the hardiest thug shudder.
Bane was indeed down, today.
Allen's gaze swept over the crowd, his eyes showing a hint of playfulness.
Every thug lowered their head, avoiding his gaze like a child hiding from a nightmare.
'That guy has crazy eyes…' was everyone's thoughts.
Allen crouched down, his hands grabbing Bane's neck like it was nothing more than a ragdoll's.
Bane's vacant, bloodshot eyes were filled with disbelief, but there was no escape.
He was surprisingly still alive.
"Ugh"
"Augh"
"When you tried to hit me," Allen said, "you had already lost."
"Also, earlier you said if I can take your mask off, well it seems I indeed can!"
With a swift motion, he grabbed Bane's mask and yanked.
RIP!
Blood splattered in every direction.
The punch might have made the mast stick too tightly…
The brutal scene was so grotesque that many in the crowd turned away, eyes wide with horror.
Some flinched, while others paled as though they had felt the mask being torn off themselves.
"Guess I pulled a little too hard," Allen muttered nonchalantly.
"Eh, forget it, no need to see how you look."
As Bane's body twitched and blood poured from his mouth, Allen casually shoved the mask back onto his face.
Thud!
Bane dropped to the ground once again, convulsing violently.
Then, there was nothing. He stopped moving.