The Only Way #97

'Well... that was interesting...' I mused as I opened the door and exited The Penguin's office, ignoring the humanoid whale glaring at me as I made my way to the stairs.

'Luckily, it didn't take too long, and I could still get a better look at the place before the tournament starts...' I made my way downstairs into the bar area to see if I could find where the fight would take place and maybe even scope other fighters.

'No familiar faces...' I thought as I surveyed the area and didn't find recognizable faces other than some mobsters I read about while browsing the GCPD database out of boredom.

There were underbosses from the cartel, the mafia, and even some of Black Mask's lieutenants who were glaring murder at me whenever they thought I wasn't paying attention.

The toxic gamer inside me wanted to get into their faces, call them noobs, and tell them to cry me a river or something, but I pushed down the urge as I kept moving around the place.

'I wonder if Harley would show up...? The tournament sounds like her kind of event...' I hummed as the crazy blonde came to mind. It's been a while since I last saw her, and she's been flying under the radar, surprisingly enough.

I expected her to show up at the theater when I was fighting off the mob of angry thugs, considering her tendency to show up uninvited when one least expects it, but It was Selina that made an appearance instead.

Now that I think about it, Selina likely had a purpose in mind for being in the theatre, which I suspected at the time, but I wasn't free enough to keep an eye on her.

'Whatever... now is not the time to think about it...' I shook my head as I kept moving, finally stopping as I saw Cassandra sitting at a table by herself, hungrily stuffing her face with food from the open buffet.

I hesitated for a second before I continued walking when Cassandra raised her head and locked eyes with me, regarding me with a cautious look as she stopped eating.

Though I could tell her about her mother's schemes, it wouldn't change a thing, even if she believed me, which was doubtful at best. I honestly sympathized with and wanted to help her, as I had a good impression of her since she was helping Patrick and the others.

However, it was better for both of us not to interact with each other more than necessary. In the end, Barbara Gordon would hopefully find her, and things would go as they did in the comics.

She would find her family with Bruce Wayne. In time, she'd get over her guilt and death wish, and my interference might rob her of that, which isn't something I wanted.

I was more than willing to rob someone like Tommy Monaghan of his happy ending to assure myself because he wasn't exactly the best human being and he pissed me off, but Cassandra Cain was just a confused little girl, and I didn't want to risk ruining her life.

'Just gonna have to hang in there on your own for a while longer...' I mused to no one in particular as I looked away from Cassandra and kept moving, unaware of her lingering gaze on my back at the time.

...

"There you are... what took you so long...?" Richard asked as he opened his eyes and raised his head to look at me from his spot on the ground where he was meditating when he noticed me enter the room.

"I was looking around the place, trying to figure out where the fights would be held..." I replied with a shrug as I took off my riot gear and took a deep breath after closing the door.

"Couldn't find anything, and when I asked a henchman, he said it's supposed to be a secret..." I added as I opened the mini fridge, took a drink, and slumped into the couch next to Ben, who was leisurely watching a basketball game on TV.

"So what did The Penguin want from you...?" Ben impatiently asked as he turned off the TV and turned to me with a curious look as he raised an eyebrow.

"He told me that Lady Shiva asked him to manipulate the opponent's placement in the tournament..." I remarked, then proceeded to convey my conversation about the matter as the two men listened intently.

...

"If Sandra went so far as to stop you and her daughter from fighting someone, then it's likely that Crush girl..." Richard said, frowning after hearing me explain the situation as the Penguin described it to me.

"And she is most likely strong enough to be a threat, as you had expected..." He added with a sigh, rubbing his chin as he paused to contemplate.

"Either way, I won't have to fight Crush. I can withdraw from the tournament after beating Shiva's daughter," I casually said, snapping my teacher out of it as he nodded.

He probably wanted me to keep fighting and win the tournament, but I didn't feel the need to expose my abilities unless necessary, and he didn't say it outright, so I'll keep it that way.

"That's not all The Penguin wanted to talk about, though," I added as I slowly sipped at the beverage in my hand, causing Benjamin and Richard to put on curious expressions, urging me to explain.

"The Sentry Guns I used in the theatre..." I went on, gesturing to the side after a slight pause to finish my drink. "He said it would be a gold mine and wanted to act as a middleman and help me sell them off if I was interested," I added with a chuckle as I put the empty soda can on the table.

"For a share of the profit, course," I concluded as I leaned on the couch, changing my voice and doing air quotes in a terrible Penguin impression that caused Benjamin to chuckle while Richard looked like he wanted to facepalm.

"And...? What did you say...?" Richard asked, immediately putting on a blank expression. I knew my teacher well enough to understand he was assuming I accepted the offer, and I couldn't blame him, honestly.

"I refused," I replied, smiling at the slight change in Richard's expression as he tried to control his surprised expression. "I love money, but I don't love it enough to sell weapons to a mob boss," I added, chuckling as Richard couldn't resist any longer and sighed in relief.

I might have accepted the deal if I didn't have a stable source of income already, but if I'm going to sell weapons, then I might as well do it properly through a licensed company to people who would use them to do good.

And yes, I intend to open up a company sometime in the future. If I wanted to change this world, which I did, for my sake and no one else's, then I couldn't keep sneaking around in the shadows and would eventually have to go public.

Once I reach a high level in all my Mad Scientist archetype skills, I'd be able to change this world for the better, and since I live in this world, why the hell wouldn't I?

Imagine how this world would be if people like Lex Luthor weren't such petty assholes and if superheroes didn't hoard technology like they were Scrooge McDuck.

There would be no hunger, no sickness, no vagrancy, no conflict. Earth would be a utopia, and I can make that happen with time and effort. It won't be anytime soon, but it's definitely possible.

There are many things I don't like about this world, and instead of brooding about it and cursing my luck for transmigrating into this shitty reality, I realized it would be better to change it for the better and make it somewhere I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life in.

In the end, beating up villains, putting them in prison, or even killing them wouldn't do a damned thing to fix this world. Beat them and put them in prison? They escape and turn even crazier somehow. Kill them? Someone else equally, or even more crazy shows up and takes on their mantle. Heck, even a small fry like Firefly had at least three or four incarnations.

There was only one way to fix this world, and it was through money, power, and technology.

I plan on starting from Gotham, because if I can fix this shithole and make it livable then the rest of the world would be a fucking piece of cake in comparison.

"Just admit you're surprised I refused the offer. I never bothered to hide how much I loved money," I remarked, grinning as I observed Richard's expression, and he could only smile bitterly and shake his head in exasperation.

"In any case, you did well to refuse, Gray," Richard said as he gathered his bearings and cleared his throat. "The Penguin is a devious man, and his contacts will be similarly minded people," he added, gesturing to the side.

"Many lives would be lost if you sold your weapons to such people," he added, looking as if he had more to say. However, a knock on the door made him stop.

The door opened shortly, revealing the figure of the same Penguin Henchman who led us to this room after I put on my gear and shouted for him to enter.

"The tournament shall start shortly. Please allow me so I can show you to the combatants' waiting area, where you will be further advised on how to proceed..."