In the original history, before Bane launched his Gotham destruction plan, he took Batman to Peña Duro prison in the Caribbean Republic of Santa Prisca, where he grew up.
Many years ago, a pregnant woman was brought there, and she gave birth to a boy in prison, who would bear all the consequences of his father's crimes. That boy was Bane—imprisoned from birth in the dark, sin-filled prison until he escaped and came to Gotham to start his reign of terror.
In their confrontation, Bane defeated Batman, Gotham's only open protector, and broke Batman's spine. This event became known as the "Back-breaking Battle."
As a troublemaking villain (cough cough), Bane decided to make Gotham's protector experience the same suffering he had endured back then, so he sent Bruce to this same prison.
In this world, however, things seem a little different.
"What? Batman is still locked in a cage underground?" Atreus received a communication from the Huntress, frowning. "As expected, this isn't just a simple Gotham riot."
Atreus decided to wait and see, while Bane, on the other hand, brazenly began his grand performance, just as in history.
First, he led his forces into Wayne Enterprises' headquarters, swiftly killed several guards, and then kidnapped Lucius Fox, chairman of the board, Miranda Tate (who was pretending to be a victim), and an ordinary shareholder, dragging them all into the underground world.
This, of course, infuriated the mayor of Gotham, who immediately ordered the long-suffering Commissioner Gordon to lead all the police into the sewers to rescue them.
"This is a disgrace! If so many patriotic businessmen are kidnapped by criminals and the police do nothing, how will we attract investors to Gotham in the future?"
Needless to say, with pressure from above and public opinion, Gordon had no choice but to act.
He had already planned to borrow officers from the NYPD to help clear out the gangs in the sewers, so after discussing with a few top brass, they quickly decided to proceed with the plan.
Thus...
Tens of thousands of officers walked straight into Bane's trap.
"Boom!"
Most of the sewer entrances were built with specially reinforced cement that could be detonated. Normally, it just looked like regular cement, but in an instant, all the officers were trapped underground.
However, something was slightly different from history:
"Hey! How come you guys are so well-prepared?"
Gotham's police were dumbfounded as they watched their New York colleagues pull out a ridiculous number of items from their backpacks: extra-large power banks, emergency lights, plastic sheets to lay on the ground, compressed biscuits in various flavors, vegetable cans, and water purification tablets...
What the hell!
Anyone who didn't know better might think they were going on a camping trip in the jungle.
Even the New York officers were a bit confused: "We don't know either. It's just what we were ordered to bring—enough supplies for two people for at least fifteen days."
Gotham police: "…"
Above ground, with over 90% of the police trapped, there was no one left to stop Bane. He led his men into a stadium during a Super Bowl game and announced his plan to take the entire city hostage.
"This is a nuclear fusion reactor! It's also a big toy that can send you all to the sky! I, Bane, hereby declare that I have taken control of Gotham! No one can leave this city. If anyone steps out without my permission, I will turn this city of 12 million people to ashes!"
Bane then paraded out the kidnapped nuclear scientist, and the rising radiation levels on site signaled to the U.S. government that this thing could indeed be used as a nuclear weapon.
Thus, the most absurd scene in Gotham's history occurred.
The National Guard, on behalf of the criminals, blocked every bridge leading to Gotham.
Remember, Gotham is a city built on a large island. Once the bridges were sealed, only the water routes remained as an escape.
In reality, winter had just begun.
Most of the water routes between Gotham and the mainland were frozen.
The ice wasn't thick enough; anyone who walked on it would fall into the freezing water and drown.
However, the ice provided excellent visibility for the defenders. Anyone attempting to flee would be seen—either captured and executed, or left to drown in the icy waters.
Meanwhile, Bane and his men wreaked havoc across the city, inciting the public's resentment towards the wealthy, encouraging the poor to loot the homes of the rich, and hanging so-called corrupt elites from streetlamps or exiling them to the ice, where they fell into the freezing waters and died.
Everything seemed to be playing out the same as before, except for a few unexpected intruders.
"Yo, Atreus, looks like it was a smart move to settle outside of Gotham," Gwen said, dangling from her web as she swung back and forth out of boredom, occasionally leaning in to playfully nibble on Atreus.
Atreus ignored her, focusing instead on the images sent by the Huntress.
In the center of the footage was a horrifying doorway deep beneath Gotham.
This terrifying doorway stood ten meters tall and four meters wide, made entirely of human bones.
These weren't old bones dug up from a graveyard, but freshly peeled, still-bloody bones from the living.
The victims were those wealthy individuals executed by the public under Bane's incitement.
Among them was none other than Catwoman's old acquaintance, former Wayne Enterprises second shareholder Mr. Daggett.
Atreus didn't bother sending the footage of Daggett's demise to Catwoman. A mere description was enough to make the beautiful woman vomit violently on the other end of the phone.
"That's enough! Kratos, don't you have any sense of compassion?"
"If you were really just an innocent little girl…"
"Hmph!" Catwoman gritted her teeth at Kratos.
Yet, deep down, she couldn't help but raise her opinion of him.
If Bane were to fall, it would prove that Kratos had been in control all along, playing the ultimate chess master, with even Batman as just a piece on his board.
"Kratos, what are you waiting for?"
"A surprise! Or rather, an inevitable accident!" Atreus replied enigmatically.
"I hope you're right." Catwoman hung up.
Nearby, Gwen continued to swing idly through the air, while Sarah peeled a grape and fed it to Atreus. Having experienced several zombie incidents, they were no longer surprised by the chaos unfolding.
In fact, Atreus was deliberately fishing this time, trying to see how the beings from the zombie universe would enter this world.
For three days straight, on the surface, Bane continued to commit various anti-human and anti-social acts. He even found Batman's secret workshop with Lucius, securing several high-tech tanks on par with the Batmobile.
While Bane temporarily ruled Gotham, he was also gleefully taunting the American president.
Meanwhile, deep below Gotham, the bloody door was finally about to open.
(End of chapter)