Chapter 158: Rich Man's Auction (1)

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"I had the most absurd nightmare. I was poor and no one liked me."

– Louis Winthorpe III, (Trading Places)

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<{Leland's Auction House, Gotham}> 

<(Bruce Wayne POV)>

"Hey Bruce, don't you think these rich people are extremely rude? That woman wearing the Cashmere scarf almost killed a poor server just because he dropped a few drops of champagne on her heels, and yet nobody tried to help the poor guy until you stepped in. These people are exactly what rich people are shown to be like in cliche movies. It's quite shocking how different you are when compared to them." Nyssa shook her head with a look of disgust on her face.

"You are right, Nyssa. They are rude but that is because most of these people are millionaires, not billionaires. Normally billionaires are a lot more PR trained, and they make sure to keep their real personalities a secret from the public, especially if they are self-made. But most of the people here aren't self-made billionaires. They are either assholes who inherited their wealth from their family without ever bothering to learn about basic manners or they are just a bunch of nouveau rich who succeeded in landing a hefty bonus after buttering up their asshole bosses and thus now consider themselves superior to the rest of humanity because of their measly millions." I replied in a single breath. "Honestly, I feel bad for them, well at least for their parents because more than half of them are going to get bankrupt within the next decade while the rest who don't improve themselves will have their true faces revealed to the wider world once the age of social media truly flourishes," I concluded with a shrug.

"You sound like you don't like them as well," Nyssa giggled while adjusting the red dress she was wearing. Although the dress was quite modest, only accentuating her curves in the right places while tastefully highlighting her figure, making her stand out at the auction, she still appeared to be quite uncomfortable in it. This discomfort may have either been because she wasn't accustomed to wearing dresses due to her life as an assassin, or perhaps because of the way some of the perverted old men kept stealing glances at her every now and then. 

"I don't. There are a few good apples among them of course, but most of the rich in Gotham are just corrupt elite filth that wants to suck the city dry. I swear, it's almost like this city is cursed. Even the Wall Street guys from New York are probably more empathetic than these motherfuckers." I muttered while smiling and nodding at one of the rich couples who raised their glasses in my direction in greeting before quickly leading Nyssa toward our seats. 

"Do you actually know any of them? I mean, they all seem to recognize you and some of them even look like they are afraid of you. Most of the rich women have been trying to hit on you even in front of their husbands while the men are doing their best not to even look in my direction to avoid offending you. And as for the ones who weren't able to resist looking at me, they are staying at least 20 feet away from us. As far as I am aware, you never did anything scary as Bruce Wayne, nor have you yet shown the world what you are truly capable of? So, the question is why are they so... scared of you?" She curiously wondered aloud.

"Money. It can be used to grab people's attention as well as scare them. You see, the people who have money know what money can buy in this world. They are very much aware of how easily I could make their lives a whole lot harder with the help of my wealth if I ever wished to. That's why the people who think that we will never get along are making sure to stay away from me. They don't want to make an enemy that they are going to regret later on... As for whether I know them or not, of course, I don't. I have an eidetic memory; I am not going to waste that on remembering the faces of these shitheads." I sneered before noticing a familiar face walking towards us, a face that shouldn't be in Gotham. "However, I do unfortunately remember his bald ugly mug." I groaned as Lex Luthor approached me with an annoying smirk plastered on his face, followed by another woman wearing a business suit and a pair of cat-eye spectacles, that seemed to be his new secretary. 

Honestly, I was quite surprised at his appearance in Gotham since most of his companies had almost next to no presence in this city. But I was sure of one thing now. If Lex Luthor is here to attend this auction, it means that there are going to be some very interesting items available for the auction today. 

"Bruce Wayne, what a surprise! I never thought I would meet you in an auction of all places. Shouldn't you be attending some circus or orphanage? But then again, this place is a good way to spend your parents' money, isn't it?" He snorted pompously before turning his attention towards Nyssa, not even waiting for me to respond to his words. "And who is your beautiful friend? Some supermodel on your payroll for the night?" he asked, raising one of his eyebrows.

"I am Nyssa Alghul, a businesswoman from Dubai. Me and my sister run hotels and some other service-based businesses. Renting ourselves is not one of them though... However, I have heard that Lexcorp has always excelled in that sort of business especially when your mother used to be involved in running the company, Mr. Luthor." Nyssa calmly retorted, not at all bothering to give a reaction to Lex who was trying to imply that she was a prostitute I hired with my money. 

"You know Lex, sometimes I wondered if you were still the same jerk, I met all those years ago in Smallville. I thought that perhaps you were just a little boy and could change for the better as you grow old, but it seems that there is no cure for being a dick. Hell, your bald head looks like a small dick, so I guess even the world is acknowledging you as a jerk." I mocked with a straight face, earning a giggle from Lex's secretary standing behind him.

"... You two will regret talking to me like that. I'll make sure of it." Lex threatened after a few seconds of gritting his teeth before turning around to leave. "As for you, Mercy, stop embarrassing me by giggling like a fool." He uttered in anger as he returned to his own seat since the auction was about to start.

"Sigh It was funny." The girl standing behind Lex who had been observing the two of us till now mumbled before diligently following after her boss.

"He wants to buy something from this auction, something so unique that made him come to Gotham all the way from Metropolis." I surmised before opening the auction brochure we were all given when entering the auction house.

The brochure contained a list of all the items that were to be auctioned tonight, and perhaps going through it could help determine what exactly Luthor wanted.

"He is probably not here for the jewelry or the antique vases. Probably not the paintings too since none of them are that famous, Maybe the vintage blades or the guns?" Nyssa guessed as she also scanned through all the items one by one alongside me.

"Maybe. But I can only see three items worth the effort of his trip. One is this three-hundred-year-old Executive desk from India that miraculously doesn't even have a single scratch on it, the second is a pair of red earrings that were made from some unknown red crystals about seven hundred years ago and the third is a vintage rifle made by some famous crazy gun-maker named John Winchester. Apparently, it was his last creation, and he used it to kill his entire family before taking his own life." I listed the items that caught my attention.

"That thoughtful look on your face tells me you are not planning something nice... Wait, are you going to buy those three things yourself to prevent Luthor from getting his dirty paws on them?" she asked, finally realizing that I was planning to take some revenge against Luthor. 

"I don't care what he wants or why he wants it. All I know is that I don't want him to get it, and I have enough money to make sure of that. In fact, now that I think about it, it has been a long time since I have actually splurged my money on something excessive. This auction should be a good way to do that. I think I can make use of... all the items on this list if I were to buy them." 

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(A/N: Happy Diwali and Happy Halloween to everyone around the world)

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