Crush #94

Gotham City Park

"Are you ready?" Richard asked as he looked at Gray, who was doing some light sparring with Benjamin as a last-minute warm-up before the tournament.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Gray replied as he caught Benjamin's fist and pushed it away, still holding back his strength, but he was now skilled enough to hold his own without relying on his brute force.

"Yeah, the kid is gonna crush everything in his way," Benjamin said with a proud smirk, crossing his arms as if he was talking about his own student, causing Richard to scoff.

Richard agreed with Benjamin's sentiment, but he didn't bother to say it as Gray seemed confident enough without any words of encouragement, so he merely smiled.

"Then we should be on our way. The tournament will start in a couple of hours," Richard said with a nod, prompting Gray to return the gesture and put on his gear.

"That's never going to get old..." Benjamin said, his eyes widening as he watched the riot gear and trench coat suddenly appear on Gray's body, replacing his training clothes.

He had already seen Gray's power to make things disappear and reappear multiple times by now, but it never failed to amaze him as he'd seen nothing like it.

"You try doing that a gazillion times, and it'll get old pretty quickly," Gray said with a chuckle, shrugging his shoulder as he turned to the dark-skinned man.

"Either way, It's still an incredible power. You must be careful about using it in public," Richard commented from the side as he picked up a duffle bag with what little belongings he owned.

"It's a bit too late for that..." Gray sheepishly replied, awkwardly putting a hand on the back of his neck as he nervously chuckled.

"No use crying over spilled milk, I suppose," Richard carelessly said, shrugging his shoulder as he began walking after gesturing for Gray and Benjamin to follow.

"Come on, we don't wanna be late," Richard said, hastening his steps as he turned back and saw the duo following along at a leisurely pace, causing them to nod and oblige.

...

East End

Inside an empty garage

Cassandra Cain took a deep breath as she finished her daily training ritual. She then turned to the sky, judging the time by looking at the sun as she didn't have a phone or any method to tell the time.

Jabbing at the air to psyche herself up after ascertaining the time, Cassandra unclenched her fist and let out the breath she was holding. She reached behind her neck and covered her head with the hoodie, resolutely nodding before she moved to the exit.

She had come a long way to get here to Gotham as she kept moving from one place to another with no real purpose other than to escape her father's clutches as he hounded her every step of the way.

For the longest time, her only care was her next meal and how to escape when David Cain eventually found her again until she met those kind homeless people when she was at her lowest point.

She had just escaped an ambush in Gotham's suburbs as she was making her way to Metropolis when she wandered into the warehouse where the homeless people found her and tended to her wounds.

They didn't ask questions; they didn't demand anything in return for their kindness and merely nursed her back to health, comforted her with no expectations in mind.

Cassandra had never wished she could speak as much as she did at the time after finding herself unable to utter the words to thank the good people who saved her life.

And it wasn't only her life that those people saved. Because of their kindness, something she felt for the first time in their presence, Cassandra realized that there was more to life than surviving and escaping her father.

She had a purpose now; to provide the same kindness and warmth the people in the warehouse gave her to everyone who needed it and to protect her benefactors who brought light into her life at her darkest hour.

She can do real good here in this crooked city and maybe, just maybe, even redeem herself and atone for taking that man's life when she was a child by making Gotham a better place.

Carrying those convictions close at heart, Cassandra Cain left the parking lot, making her way to the Iceberg Lounge, prepared to risk her life to win if need be.

...

Somewhere in Gotham

As she emptied the beer can with one gulp, Xiomara Rojas frowned at how little it affected her despite having already finished two six-packs of the alcoholic beverage by now.

It was her blessing and curse, her alien heritage. She was only half human, and her extraordinary strength came from her extraterrestrial ancestry.

Xiomara's heritage not only gave her superhuman strength, speed, and stamina, but it also gave her a unique appearance that brought nothing but trouble.

Her adoptive parents, David and Lisa Rojas, had found her in the Black Rock Desert when she was a baby, shrouded by a mysterious, sentient chain, which she later called the Obelus.

The chain around Xiomara was sentient and protected her from any external dangers in the desert but allowed David and Lisa to touch the baby.

Lisa saw this as a sign that the chain wanted her and David to look after the baby until Xiomara's biological parents came around. They took her in and raised her as their own.

Obelus neither separated from Xiomara nor the Rojas, as it was its duty to protect the girl at all costs.

As the years went on, and Xiomara was ready to attend school, David and Lisa chose to home school the young girl and played with her all the time so she wouldn't need to socialize to protect her from prejudice because of her unique appearance.

When Xiomara asked about her heritage, David told her that her parents were superheroes who left Xiomara with David and Lisa while they protected the universe.

Just like that, Xiomara lived with her parents feeling no stability as they were constantly on the move due to their debts and legal issues that followed them every step of the way.

One day while walking around the town center after she sneaked out of her home, Xiomara saw a news bulletin about the intergalactic mercenary and the last of the Czarnian alien race, Lobo, fighting Superman.

She instinctively knew that Lobo was her father and rushed home to confront her adoptive parents for lying about her biological parents being superheroes. Lobo was clearly many things, but heroic was none of them.

Enraged by her adoptive parent's explanation that they lied to her for her own good, she took the Obelus and ran from home, only to be attacked by a racist mob at the gas station because of her appearance.

She calmed down after beating up her assailants and decided to return to her adoptive parents' home, only to find their trailer burned to the ground and Lisa and David murdered when she finally arrived.

Xiomara went on the run, as she knew she would be blamed for her parents' death, swearing to find whoever was responsible for their deaths to make them pay dearly.

She used her incredible strength to make money by participating in underground fighting rings after taking the name Crush, leading her right to Gotham, ready to participate in the Penguin's tournament just as she was running low on cash.

"Hopefully, this fighting ring isn't as boring as that shithole in New York..." Xiomara muttered to no one in particular as she crushed the beer can in her hand into a ball and threw it aside.

...

The Iceberg Lounge

"Fancy place..." I remarked, looking around as I stood in line with Benjamin and Richard at the Penguin's club entrance, having just arrived here.

"The Penguin definitely knows how to sell that whole rich master mind persona he's got going..." Benjamin said with a smirk as he surveyed the area.

"You sure made a name for yourself, kid," Benjamin added as he noticed the people in line hurry out of my way after seeing me in full gear, likely assuming I was here to make trouble.

"Might as well make use of it," I said with a chuckle as I positioned myself ahead of Richard and Benjamin and walked forward to cut the line, much to my teacher's exasperation, but he said nothing and just followed.

People immediately moved out of our way as they were regular thugs here to spectate the fights, and I didn't pause as I kept moving forward until a man in a suit came out of the club and approached us.

"Excuse me, but are you here to participate?" the man, obviously a Penguin henchman, politely asked as he stopped before us, his gaze alternating between Richard, Benjamin, and myself.

"I am, and they're here with me," I blankly replied with a shrug, gesturing towards my teacher and Benjamin, to which the man nodded in understanding.

"Then please follow me. I will take you to your room where you can wait for the tournament to begin in comfort," The man said as he stepped back and gestured for us to get out of the line.

I shared a look with Richard and Benjamin, and they shrugged, so I nodded at the man, exited the line, and followed him into the interior of the Iceberg Lounge.

...

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