105 Playing Dirty #105

I sighed, wiping sweat that didn't exist off my forehead out of habit as I stopped working to take a look at the still, unfinished forge I'd been working on for several hours now.

It was still far from finished, but I reckon one or two more similarly long work sessions would do the trick, and I'd finally have a way to create alloys and solve many of the problems I'm having with my inventions.

And yes, I do mean inventions as in plural. You remember that thing about getting ideas in the shower and whatnot? Well, that happens often, and every time I get one, I'll immediately get started on it, only to abandon it halfway when I think of something else.

I'd started so many projects it would probably take me all day to talk about each of them, so I'll save myself the trouble and leave it to your imagination.

I don't plan on starting anything new until I finish a good portion of the projects I'm already working on, but it would probably take me months, if not years to wrap up, which is fine since I enjoyed the process.

'The tournament should be over with by now...' I mused, heading into my living area as I put on my shirt. Once there, I plopped down on the closest chair and retrieved my laptop, since a certain someone fucked up my couch.

I could watch the fights in my head, but any footage I view that way imprints itself into my brain as a memory would. I'd never forget what I saw regardless because of my Perfect Recall, though it would be less disorienting this way.

"Now, let's see what we have here..." I remarked to no one in particular as I accessed the footage from the camera I planted in the arena, fast-forwarding once it started playing.

'Small fries... small fries... and more small fries...' I sighed, rubbing the back of my head as I watched the footage, seeing nothing but nameless gang enforcers beating the shit out of each other.

They weren't really nameless as they were all bigshots in their respective factions and would make any regular person shit their pants, but they didn't look like named comic characters. Thus I couldn't give two shits about them.

"Oh...?" I intoned, raising an eyebrow and slowing down the video back to regular speed as I noticed the change in the announcer's demeanor while proclaiming the upcoming fight.

"Fucking great..." I cursed, bitterly smiling as I spotted a familiar face, a scaly, menacing one I used to dread whenever nature called, walking out of the right side entrance.

Waylon Jones, also known as Killer Fucking Croc. That's the owner of the face if you're wondering.

It made sense that he'd participate since he was obsessed with regaining his street cred from when he was an actual gang boss and not the neighborhood's friendly sewer-dwelling hired muscle, now that I thought about it.

I knew I'd meet Croc again sooner or later, but this time I was confident in my ability to of kicking his scaly green ass, even without showing too much power. He won't be a problem this time, at least.

'Tough luck, dude...' I mused, feeling genuine sympathy for the thug who walked into the arena through the left side entrance, already looking like he'd shit his pants at any second.

Luckily for the poor guy, Croc didn't seem to be in the mood to play games, and he merely picked him up and threw him into the wall, leaving before the announcer could even start counting down.

'Rest in peace, my guy. You won't be forgotten. I practically can't forget you even if I wanted to...' I chuckled, shaking my head as I put the fights on fast forward again.

...

'Crush, Croc, Amygdala, and Finally Bane...' I nodded as I wrote down the names of the only four contestants with superpowers as they were the only people who could pose a real threat to me.

Crush was the biggest threat of the bunch because of alien genes bullshitry, but I won't run into her if The Penguin's words were to be believed, which is one of the dumbest things any sane person could do.

Amygdala was likely the strongest of the remaining three, but he's got nothing but brute strength, resembling a child throwing a tantrum when he fought rather than a warrior.

He was also the easiest to take care of because of his nature and how he mindlessly fought like a baby bull put on steroids and a shit ton of growth hormones.

Bane and Crocodile were equal in terms of strength, the former excelling in martial arts and the latter in sheer ferocity and durability, but I'm more wary of Bane since I have no idea why the fuck he's even in the tournament.

Bane had literally zero obvious reasons to participate in The Penguin's tournament because what in god's name could he gain from it that he didn't already have?

Money? The guy was one of the biggest drug dealers on the planet and probably had so much money he might even be able to swim in it.

Fame, notoriety, respect? Nope. Bane broke fucking Batman, and everyone in the world knows it since the guy never shuts up about it. It's basically his catchphrase.

In conclusion? Whatever Bane's reason for joining the tournament, it was nothing good, and I had no idea what the crazy luchador was thinking, which was a huge problem since he never holds back, and always goes balls deep.

'Cassandra Cain, Kite Man, and Zero...' I hummed as I wrote other notable contestants. Though these three people were without super powers or access to super advanced gadgets, thus not a threat, they were still named characters from the comics, and as such, worthy of note.

However, I'm only writing them down since it might be helpful to keep track of them as they tend to get into all kinds of shit that I could benefit from if I play my cards correctly.

Cassandra was the reason I was in this tournament, and there's not much I could say about her that I didn't already. I'll only need to overwhelm her with my gadgets and end the fight quickly, and that will be that.

Kite Man was well... Kite Man. I'd honestly blow my fucking head off with Ebony right here and now if the idea of losing to that guy even came to my mind.

I genuinely liked the guy. The perseverance he showed in his fight was admirable, but come on. I'd be a waste of air if I lost to him as I am right now with all my gadgets, stats, skills, and whatnot.

Zero, on the other hand... the guy was another unknown to me. I'd never heard of him before, and I don't remember such a character from the comics, meaning he could be anything and anyone.

His motives were unknown, much like Bane, and so was his power level, like Crush, meaning he might be the most dangerous potential threat in the tournament despite not showing any superhuman ability.

'And here I thought I'd just kick some regular dudes' asses and call it a day...' I sighed, scratching my head and wishing with all my being that The Penguin wasn't lying.

'I can't rely on The Penguin or put any value on his word for that matter...' I concluded, frowning. I didn't want to let Richard down on this one, but I didn't want to fight anyone who could force me to go all out.

'When in doubt... play dirty...' I mused, my frown disappearing, replaced by a blank expression as I shut off my laptop and activated my personal computer power.

'I'll just have to find ways to get Crush and other lunatics to withdraw from the fight if I run into them before Cassandra...'

...

The next day

The Iceberg Lounge

Gray frowned under his riot gear at the sight of several henchmen waiting at the club's entrance, who immediately approached him once they noticed his presence.

His paranoia going overdrive, Gray immediately prepared himself for a fight as the three henchmen stopped before him, one familiar face stepping forward to address the young vigilante.

"Welcome back, Mr. Wraith... if you'd allow me to inconvenience you for a minute..." the henchman responsible for escorting Gray to his fight the previous day politely said, giving him a smile.

"What do you want...?" Gray asked, still feeling paranoid, but he didn't let it show as he maintained a straight posture and spoke in a neutral tone.

"Mr. Cobblepot would like a word with you. He wished to tell you something you must know..."

...

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