104 The Feline Menace #104

Gray's hideout

"My fucking couch...!" I exclaimed, falling to my knees in front of the expensive couch I'd bought shortly after moving to the bunker as I saw how tattered it looked.

I slowly turned my head to the little cat sitting a distance away from the couch, leisurely licking the back of his paw, which still had cotton stuck on the claws, evidence of his horrid crime against my wallet.

Little Soot meowed and slowly approached me, rubbing against me while circling my body, causing me to sigh and bitterly smile at the small feline's antics.

"You're lucky you're so cute..." I remarked, shaking my head as I picked up Little Soot and walked to my work area, storing the tattered couch in my inventory as I walked past it.

'The tournament should still be going...' I mused as I thought of what I could do to pass a couple of hours until the end of the last fight, so I could watch the footage and see if there's anyone I'd need to worry about other than Crush.

'I guess I'll work on the forge...' I concluded, nodding as I approached and getting to work after dropping Little Soot near his bowls and refilling them.

I've been working on the forge for a while now, but as you already knew, things were a bit hectic as of late, and I could never work on it for more than an hour each day, busy as I was.

I took off my shirt to avoid ruining it and immediately started working, humming under my breath.

"You load sixteen tons... and what do you get... another day older and deeper in debt...♫"

...

East End

Cassandra innocently smiled as she looked in her bag, full of expensive foods and desserts. There was spring in her step as she raised her head and noticed she was approaching her destination.

Cassandra's smile widened as she finally reached her destination, a seemingly abandoned warehouse. A homeless man was standing at the building's entrance, chatting with a shady-looking person, who immediately turned to leave when he saw Cassandra approaching.

The homeless man, Patrick, sighed and frowned as he watched the man suddenly leave and turned to see what alarmed him, only for his eyes to meet Cassandra's

Patrick's frown immediately disappeared, replaced by a gentle, exasperated smile as he spotted the young girl walking towards him and waved his hands at her.

Cassandra stopped in front of Patrick and quickly opened the bag in her hands, full of delicacies, presented to the homeless, to which his eyes winded as he saw what was inside.

"This... this looks expensive..." Patrick said as he slowly raised his head to look Cassandra in the eye. "Tell me the truth, girl... did you steal it...?" he firmly asked, giving the young girl a reprimanding look that resembled one a father would give to his well-intentioned, misbehaving child.

"I was worried you might do something like this—" Patrick said, clearly prepared to give a never-ending lecture to the young girl, who looked both confused and aggravated at his words, prompting him to interrupt him.

Cassandra grunted as she pushed the bag forward, urging Patrick to take it as she shook her head to defend herself and deny the insinuation that she'd steal something clearly so expensive.

As a young girl and a runaway, she didn't have much to her name, and the only way she could feed herself and survive in Gotham was by stealing.

She only ever took from the crooks she encountered, assaulting her or some unsuspecting civilians, and never took more than what she needed, which usually was nothing more than the price of her next meal.

Still, as detrimental as the act was to her survival and continued well-being, Cassandra loathed herself for every penny she stole, so she understandably couldn't resist the urge to stock up on the free food The Penguin offered.

She knew the food would only provide temporary relief for the people in the warehouse, but Cassandra would soon be able to improve their lives for the better permanently.

The money from the tournament would not only enable her to take off and feed herself and her new friends, but she might also have a surplus to give back to the people she stole from even.

"You..." Patrick said, unsure of what to say at Cassandra's volatile reaction, but something in her expression tugged on the strings of his heart, prompting him to believe her.

"Fine, kid. I believe you," Patrick said, regaining his smile as he took the bag with a grateful nod, turning to the warehouse as he gestured for her to come along.

Cassandra's smile returned, as beaming and innocent as ever while she followed Patrick, unaware of the heated debate taking place in the Iceberg Lounge concerning her.

...

The Iceberg Lounge

Oswald Cobblepot's office

"What do you mean the deal is off, Cobblepot...?" Lady Shiva asked in a cold tone, forgoing honorifics out of sheer rage at the words she'd just heard from the mob boss.

"It means what it means, Lady Shiva..." The Penguin replied, leisurely seated behind his desk as he smoked a cigar. "Someone asked me to do the opposite of what you did..." he added, shaking his head as he blew a cloud of smoke.

"Unlike you, the other person wasn't asking for himself, but on behalf of the League Of Assassins..." He added, shrugging his shoulders as he gestured to the side.

"I don't know what's happening on that side, and I honestly don't care," The Penguin said as he stood up from his seat, turning to look down on the empty bar area from the window behind his desk.

"Being toyed with like this by you people, this bloody back and forth, do this, do that..." The Penguin added, sounding genuinely pissed at what he considered a disrespectful act.

"I care for that even less. My respect for you and the people behind you is boundless, but I've had enough of your shit..." He continued, unmoving as several armed men stormed the room, accompanied by Orca and Magpie, his top enforcers.

"The opponent placement will be random, as planned. If you or that person have a problem with it, feel free to discuss it with my bodyguards..." The Penguin blankly concluded.

"I will go back to the League and get to the bottom of this... but make no mistakes, we will be having a discussion after..." Lady Shiva replied, unwavering as she carelessly turned to the room's exit as if the menacing humanoid giant whale glaring at her and the many armed men didn't even exist.

...

Unknown Location

"I did as you asked David..." said Alpha, addressing a white-haired, tall man, roughly 6.2 feel with a muscular build, wearing a red and black full-body suit and armed to the teeth.

Alpha himself was tall, but his height fell short of David as the latter's stature still showed despite being seated on the bed of the cheap motel room.

"You did good, my friend," David blankly replied, nodding at Alpha, one of the few men he considered a friend, as they partnered on several occasions to further Ras Al-Ghul's agenda to great success.

"Are you sure it was ok to leave it at that...?" Alpha asked as he sat at the edge of the other bed, rubbing his neck which was sore after a long journey back from Gotham that left him utterly exhausted.

"You know we've lost Cassandra's trail, and it was a miracle we managed to find her now..." he added, sighing at the mention of the young girl he helped train when she was a child.

"Not to mention whatever Shiva is plotting for her. I didn't have the time to investigate..." He concluded, taking his gun from its holster and tucking it under his below.

"There's no need to worry. No matter what that silly woman plots it would only make my weapon sharper..." David Cain replied, grinning as he dismissively waved to the side.

"I know Cassandra she won't leave Gotham. It's a great place for her to learn and grow her skill..." he added, his grin deepening as if everything was under control, which most of the time it was.

"In the end, there's only one path my dear daughter could take, to my former apprentice..." he added, images of one billion are he trained a long time ago flashing in his mind.

"He'll make her into the perfect weapon, and I'd only need to claim my prize when the time is right..." he continued with a chuckle as he lay on the bed, closing his eyes.

"Now get some rest. We will have a busy week ahead of us if we want to get Merlyn back from Amanda Waller's clutches..."