New Mission

It would be a lie to say that walking into the house wasn't stressful, but surprisingly, Zatanna didn't say much.

More like, I was given the silent treatment. But I could see it in her eyes that my words had shaken her up.

She knew I wasn't wrong.

But...

If she agrees to my proposal, I will need money... a hell lot of it.

And guess what I was doing?

"I am glad you were able to show up at such short notice."

I was making money.

"I was around Gotham, so it wasn't much of an issue," I assured him, "But this time it is a guarding mission, huh?"

Penguin grinned, "It is."

This had me quite curious, though.

"Why me?" I asked, "Someone like Slade, Deadshot, or even Bane would be a much better fit, wouldn't they?"

Penguin didn't lose his smile, but he seemed awkward.

"It's... because of their appearance."

"Pardon?" This was interesting.

"The person you are supposed to guard is quite special," he explained, "She is not linked to the world of heroes or villains, which makes it difficult to hire someone with an appearance like Bane... or too secretive like Deadshot and Deathstroke wouldn't be preferable either."

This was certainly an interesting client.

"So, who is she?"

Penguin showed an evil grin, "Carol Ferris, the sole heiress of the massive corporation Ferris Aircraft. She recently got back to NYC and has been a hot target for many of her father's competitors. And her father, Carl Ferris, is certain that she will be targeted by one of their direct competitors."

"Does that mean I have to restrain myself from using my powers?" I am definitely not up for the task if I am to do it without my powers, "Because if so, I will have to decline the offer."

Now, I was good with fighting, but it was mostly street fighting. As part of the underworld in a world without powers, I did have to use my fists to reach the height that I once was.

However, fists could not beat guns.

And in a world run by money, everyone had their guns out, even for a fistfight.

"Of course, not." He assured me, "I chose you specially because of your ability. You are capable of defeating multiple enemies at once, similar to Bane and Croc, and doing it while dealing the minimum damage to the surrounding like Deathstroke and Deadshot. All while not scaring off anyone," He said, "you are perfect for this task."

"How big is the threat?" I asked, curious if I will be jumped by some superhero or villain like the previous mission.

"It is kind of big, to be honest," He said, making me frown a little, "The ones after her had hired two deadly assassins."

"Assassins?" This could be troublesome, "Superpowered?"

"More like skilled," Penguin answered honestly, "These two are two of the most reputed women in the mercenary business."

"Women, huh?" I could think of a few famous DC assassins that were women, but let's see if they are the ones I am expecting.

"Yes," Penguin nodded, "One of them is a master of poisons, and after investigating her roots a little, we found her to be Vietnamese."

A Vietnamese poison expert? Doesn't sound very familiar.

"She goes by the name Cheshire," he revealed.

"Oh."

Honestly, I had no clue who she was. But if she used poison, I had to be careful. Poisons were tricky to deal with. And considering how many new and fictional poisons exist in this world, I might not be able to control them given the principle of my powers.

I might need to pay a certain someone a visit before this mission.

"What about the other one?" This question made him take a deep breath.

"Her name is Lady Shiva, and Deathstroke had a recent encounter with her, which ended in a stalemate..." Penguin frowned, "That should give you an estimate of how capable she is."

Lady Shiva? Wasn't she the strongest martial artist or something?

This mission doesn't sound easy.

Well, at least if I was to fight hand to hand.

But why would I care? I specialize in other things.

"I hope the payment will not disappoint me, especially considering the difficulty of the mission."

This made him burst out in his quacking laughter.

"You don't have to worry about that, Jasper!" He promised, "It will be something even greater than you might be expecting."

I mean... It's Penguin, he shouldn't disappoint me.

"2 million upfront and 6 upon completion," he said, "But I want to build a friendship with you, one better than just a mere employer and an employee."

"Oh?" I leaned back, "How do you plan to achieve that?"

He grinned, "By proving that I can help you with connections and not just money."

Honestly? This made me curious.

"Continue."

"I heard you are trying to rebuild Scarecrow's area into something productive," This caught me off guard; I almost forgot how fast news travels, and it is Penguin we are talking about. He will always have information on everyone and everything.

"I can help you with this," he said, "Imports, exports, tax evasion... everything you need to make that place flourish will be on me."

"And what do you expect in return?"

He showed a cunning smile, "Your friendship."

"I am not that stupid, Oswald," I have been in this field for longer than he would expect, "Tell me what you 'really' want."

"It's your friendship."

I stared at him, "Don't make me walk out."

He laughed, "I am being honest; it is your friendship that I want. The upcoming times will be tough for me, so I want to have as many people as I can to help me."

Of course.

He is up to something.

Something that might be crazier than I am expecting.

"We will see," I said, "For now, the money is enough."

He grinned, "As you wish."

After all, I will have to see who is up against me before making a choice.

But for now, let's visit someone.

...

...

"And... that brought you here?" Pamela frowned, "I don't know whether to be honored or offended."

"I prefer taking it the optimistic way; it helps to keep disappointment away."

She squinted her eyes, "Let me get this straight, you asked to meet me at my lab so you can see my plant poison... to help you with your mission?"

"Mhm." I nodded strongly.

"And how exactly does it help you in your mission again?" She asked.

"I am sharp when it comes to understanding things," I smirked, which made her roll her eyes.

"I know it has something to do with your ability, I just don't know what," she said, "Your ability feels like a little bit of everything: magic, science, elemental manipulation... a lot of things."

"That's the beauty of my power, Pam."

She raised an eyebrow at the nickname I gave her.

"Well, I don't know how it will help you, but it doesn't hurt to show you a few things." She shrugged, "Follow me."

And that I did.

I wasn't stupid enough to walk through the carnivorous forest filled entirely with man-eating plants.

How can a Venus flytrap even get this

 big?

But walking through the place made me realize just how strong Ivy is. Her power is one of a kind and can kill millions if she wished.

But it all comes down to how she uses her power, which is the case for most of them: heroes, villains.

And almost all of them used their powers in a single way, which made them extremely predictable, ultimately leading to their loss.

Like, give this ability, the ability to control plants, to a twelve-year-old, and he will dominate Gotham in less than a day.

Something the adults cannot do, even if they wished.

And it all mostly stemmed from their imagination.

Which was also the case for my ability, and I truly need to find a way to break free from the restrictions on my power.

Once I am able to do that, the crazy shit I can pull will be beyond anyone's imagination.

But when?

That's the question.

"This is called Rosary Pea, a popular plant in jewelry and prayer rosaries."

I wasn't going to question how a poisonous plant was used for jewelry; I was here for something else after all.

"It has the capability to kill you by ingesting only 3mg of its toxins, and if you get pricked by it, it is enough to make you severely ill." She said, which made me smile.

"Can you extract the poison?" I asked, which made her curious.

"Sure I can, but I am curious what you are going to do." She did sound curious; I won't lie.

"You'll know one day."

She shrugged and swirled her finger around the plant, making the plant release a sort of reddish powder, a kind of pheromone that was most definitely poison.

"That's the entire poison of this plant, enough to kill a dozen people." Her statement made me happy.

"Can I get it in some sort of container?" I asked, which made her stare at me.

"You are planning to kill someone with it?" She asked.

"Possibly?"

She wasn't certain if she trusted me with the poison, but she agreed nonetheless.

"I hope I won't get in trouble for you killing someone," she joked.

"I hope I won't get into trouble," I laughed, "But can I get the poison of like three more plants or something?"

She sighed, "Sure sure~"

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