2 Home, Bitter Home #2

I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself as I stood in front of a grime-covered door of an apartment located in an equally filthy, dilapidated complex.

The entire thing basically screamed shady, drug/prostitution nest. Even from here, I could see multiple drug dealers catering to their customers and street girls in tight skirts roaming the street as I looked over my shoulder. And something tells me that a number of these girls won't come back.

The trip here wasn't pleasant either. Every breath I took filled my lungs with thick smog, every step I took on my way here splashed an unholy mixture of grime and dirt slimy substances.

Gotham city sucks. But it's all I have right now, and I'll make the best of it, or so I consoled myself in a lame attempt to ease the anxiousness and confusion gnawing at the back of my mind.

But I couldn't linger in the hallway balcony for too long, knowing I won't be safe for much longer in the open even here.

Exhaling the breath I was unconsciously holding, I inserted the key and opened the door, only to close it as a beer bottle came flying at me.

I grit my teeth as I heard the bottle hit the door, shattering and spilling its contents on the floor, followed by a thud, then another, and another.

I only opened the door a minute after the last thud, and no object came flying at me this time. It was a closed fist instead.

"Why did you come back, you good-for-nothing punk?!"

I grit my teeth, holding my nose with a pained expression as I listened to those words and observed the man who spoke them in an outraged tone.

Wearing nothing but a pair of stained boxers and a white undershirt that barely contained his bulging gut, the man, Logan Whitlock, stood 6.2 feet tall as he stared me down with condemning eyes.

Despite being out of shape, layers upon layers covering his body, the man packed quite the punch, a testament, a proof to what he once was, to muscle mass that once was.

"I'm talking to you useless piece of shit!"

Logan raged upon noticing my lack of reply, his expression twisting in fury as he leveled his fist back, preparing to punch me again. His twisted face, along with his imposing height and size, gave quite the intimidating image.

But I wasn't intimidated. I was seething with rage instead.

The former owner of this body, Gray, was an unfortunate soul. The years of abuse and suffering at the hands of his father, along with a severe case of malnourishment, had chipped away at his courage, leaving him nothing more than a spineless coward, unable and unwilling to stand up for himself.

He could not, would not stand up to this man. That's why he left his father's home.

Driven by despair, the poor teenager turned to begging to feed himself, but his pleas fell on deaf ears as the residents of Gotham City were many things, cynical and resilient they were. But charitable, they were not.

'It's a miracle the poor kid survived as much as he did...'

I mused while listening to Logan's continuous flood of verbal abuse, his fists still threateningly leveled at shoulder level as a bitter smile tugged on my lips, an expression he perceived as a challenge.

"You think this is a joke?! You think this is funny, you no-good waste of air?!"

Logan exclaimed, his rage reaching a critical point as he launched his fist at my face once more.

The former Gray's first instinct would have been to freeze and brace himself, to take the beating like the well-behaved punching bag his father raised to be. But I was not him.

When pushed, I push back.

The quest prompt and transparent window at the edge of my vision only worked to fuel my resolve as I raised dodged the slow punch by moving to the side.

"Try that again, and I will fuck you up."

The words naturally came out of my mouth as I slapped Logan's hand away as it missed my face.

Despite knowing how to fight, had the system not brought this body back to optimal condition, I would have made a fool of myself as the former Gray was severely malnourished and choke-full of diseases.

"What did you say to me, you punk! Who do you think you're talking to?!"

Though briefly surprised by my reaction to his abuse, he quickly recovered and shot me a death glare while reaching towards my collar with his other hand.

I didn't reply. I didn't need to, as a simple kick in the nuts was enough to make him shut up and bring him to his knees.

"Are you fucking deaf?"

I calmly spoke, my tone cold as I slowly emphasized every word while staring down at Logan with an equally icy expression until he looked me in the eye and froze.

There was surprise in his expression, confusion, bewilderment, and above all else, fear as he gave me his full attention after taking in my bloodied face and clothes.

"I will be staying here until I gather enough money to leave. You will stay out of my way, and I will stay out of yours until then. Do I make myself clear, Logan?"

I questioned, my expression scrunching in disgust as I uttered the last word, and it was Logan's turn to be speechless as he hurriedly nodded his head repeatedly.

I gritted my teeth, my fist forming into a fist as I contemplated breaking his face with a punch at how quickly his attitude changed once he realized he wasn't the same soft target he'd bullied and abused for years.

I took a deep breath to calm myself as I let off his hand and walked away towards Gray's- no, my room.

'Logan Whitlock was an abusive piece of shit and possibly the worst parent, but that wasn't always the case... there was once a time when he was a decent father...'

I reasoned to myself as I made my way to my room, inspecting the completed quest prompt in the corner of my vision.

...

I sighed in relief as I wiped my hair with a towel, standing in front of the mirror in my room after taking a cold shower. This shitty complex had no hot water, and I didn't feel like heating water on the stove to avoid conflict with Logan, so I made do, and the cold water worked wonders to calm me down.

I stared into the mirror, and an unfamiliar face stared back. Short, messy black hair, black eyes, and an average face that only those familiar it with would remember.

My body was lean with no definition of muscle, but I wouldn't complain, considering how malnourished this body used to be before the system fixed it.

The former Gray was so skinny he could probably use floss as a noose to hang himself. And I kid you not when I say that was a real possibility with how miserable the poor bastard was.

'System show me quest prompts and any unread notifications...'

I sighed again, shaking my head as I walked to my bed and plopped down on the bed.

[quest complete: stand up for yourself]

Stand up For yourself (complete):

What has two legs, two arms, and an abusive father? You, dum-dum.

Now stop reading and do something about it before he breaks your face!

Objective: put a stop to your father's abuse.

Rewards: Unlocked inventory

[Receive reward now? Yes/No]

...

A retort was at the tip of my tongue, but I chose to ignore the quest's wording for my own mental health's sake.

'Receive reward...' I nodded and immediately heard a satisfying ding as a new window appeared.

[Rewards received. Inventory unlocked]

I brought up the system interface, and sure enough, the inventory tab had the word none next to it instead of locked.

'How do I use the inventory?' I idly questioned as I reached for a quarter in my pocket.

[You need to be holding the object you wish to store and think about putting it inside your inventory]

'Sounds easy enough...' I nodded as I obliged, raising an eyebrow as the quarter disappeared, prompting me to open my inventory tab again.

Inventory: [Quarter Dollar Coin: it's just a quarter, what description did you expect to find?]

'What's with this passive-aggressive system?!'

My eyes twitched in annoyance, but I knew better than to question it right now.

'Do I just think about taking out the item to retrieve it from the inventory?'

[Correct]

I hummed, nodding as I thought of retrieving the quarter, and it quickly appeared in my open palm.

'Well... looks like I found my party trick...'

I leisurely smiled as I tossed the coin in my hand and placed it back into my inventory.

'What else is there, system?'

[quest complete! Find Shelter]

Find Shelter (complete):

The streets of Gotham City are treacherous, especially at night, what with thugs, masked psychopaths, and other assorted shades of crazies roaming about the city's dark underbelly as soon as the sun sets.

Objective: find a relatively safe place to spend the night.

Rewards: starter class.

[Would you like to choose your starter class now? Yes/No]