102 The Ten Eyed Man, And The Orphan #102

I couldn't help chuckling as I watched Benjamin booing at the announcer as he declared the conclusion of yet another boring fight while most spectators were on their feet, clapping and screaming like crazed fan girls.

There was little the average man could do to impress someone of Ben's level of martial arts mastery. However, the most mundane and average techniques were enough to impress the average joe, the spectators in this case.

Both Ben and the crowd's reactions made sense in a way. Even Richard stopped watching the matches and had been meditating to pass the time for a while now.

Meanwhile, I've been keeping myself busy working on a small Rubix cube that would act as a jumped-up, advanced swiss army knife on crack, with as many functions as I could jam into it.

I've been working on this project for a while now, but it's a slow process as I was nowhere knowledgeable or high-leveled enough to complete it the way I am now.

I'd need more levels in my mechanics skill to complete it, but it didn't stop me from working on it as soon as I got the idea. It was one of those rare thoughts you'd have while scrolling through Reddit on the bathroom seat.

You'd usually forget about it by the time you're out washing your hands, or it would seem so ridiculous you'd laugh it off and go on with your day like nothing happened.

My idea was on that level of ridiculousness, but I could actually bring it to life thanks to my skills and stats, so I did and immediately began working on it.

Now, what would the practical applications of this new toy be, you might ask? The answer is simple, utility gadget, which I'd stuff with various mini toys.

How would it work? That's even simpler, like a Rubix cube. You'd have to create a specific pattern in the Rubix cube to activate its respective function, and I plan on making each one as complicated as possible for security purposes.

And what am I going to call this marvelous invention? Pandora Cube, because if anyone who didn't know what they were doing tried to use it, they'd get a random result that might be beneficial or harmful.

And yes, there are more efficient ways to go about it, and the design is dog-shit because it would be troublesome to operate in the heat of battle as it was complicated.

But I really didn't care. I had the idea; I liked it, and now I'm doing it simply because I can, in time, probably. Pickle Rick, baby!

"Look, the new announcer is acting weird. He's looking at Gray..." Ben said, snapping me out of my focus, to which I sighed, putting away my tools while Richard opened his eyes and stopped meditating.

I looked down to see what was up with the new announcer, and he cleared his throat and looked away immediately after noticing my gaze, turning to the right corner.

"On the right corner... we have an unknown, a nameless dark horse, who recently came to Gotham..." the announcer stated as he grandly gestured to the right side entrance.

"Not much is known about this contestant except her distaste for words and her incredible martial prowess..." he continued in a cryptic tone to arouse the audience's curiosity.

"Some say she is a vigilante, while others claim she is a martial artist on a journey to improve her skill; everyone put your hands together for Orphan!" the announcer concluded, prompting a petite young girl to walk into the ring.

Wearing street clothes with a hoodie that covered her face, the girl stood at 5.5 feet tall as she calmly walked to the center of the arena, stopping beside the announcer.

"That's her; Shiva's daughter..." I said, immediately recognizing Cassandra Cain by the description the announcer gave and matching her height and body proportions with what I saw in the bar area after my meeting with The Penguin.

"How do you know...?" Richard asked, frowning as he turned to me, giving me a questioning look, and Benjamin's reactions weren't much different as he put away his phone and gave me his undivided attention.

"I just do. It'll take too long to explain. I'll tell you about it later..." I replied, shrugging my shoulder. I wasn't lying since it would really take too long to explain Cassandra's backstory and how it matched the description.

However, I didn't want to answer the question because it would only raise several more, like how I knew about Cassandra Cain's story, which should only be privy to her immediate family, and high-level League of Assassins members.

"Fine. Let's see how this goes for now..." Richard said with a nod, dropping the subject. He likely realized I didn't want to talk about judging by his tone and body language.

Benjamin, on the other hand, wasn't feeling as tactful. He kept giving me the stink eye, but I was thick-skinned enough to ignore it until he got bored and focused on the match yet to begin.

"One the left corner, we have a war veteran turned villain due to a horrible accident that rendered him sightless..." the announcer said, grinning as he turned to the left side entrance.

"Despite being blind, no one has yet managed to sneak up on him..." he went on, his smirk widening at the effect his words had on the audience, who didn't shy away from showing their excitement.

"Introducing, the perhaps ironically but aptly nicknamed villain, Ten Eyed Man!" the announcer concluded, prompting a muscular man in a tight orange spandex suit, wearing a white visor over his eyes, to walk into the stage.

The man was tall, standing at 6 feet. He had brown hair and a weird haircut. It was short on the sides and long in the middle, with a white patch in its center.

Ten Eye man had one hand behind his back while pointing the other onward, his fingers spread apart as he walked forward only to stop next to the announcer.

"Who's this weirdo?" Benjamin asked, his tone amused as he looked at the Ten Eyed Man up and down, giving him a once over with an expression that suggested he wasn't impressed.

"No idea, but the way he's moving is kinda weird..." I replied, frowning as I tried to put my finger on what was so strange about how the Ten Eye Man's walked.

"His head isn't turning at all even though he's not moving in a straight line... and the way he moves his fingers... it looks deliberate, not random..." I added, letting out a thoughtful hum.

"He isn't looking ahead either. His line of sight seems to be a bit high..." I concluded, wishing the riot gear wasn't on my head so I could scratch without exposing myself.

"I see what you mean... the way he's wiggling his finger in Cassandra's direction is off-putting, to say the least..." Richard commented from the side, looking just as confused and curious as I was.

"Wait, that's it... he sees through his fingers..." I added, halting as I felt how weird my words sounded when I spoke them, and the funny look Benjamin gave me didn't help either.

"It makes sense. The guy is called the Ten Eyed Man, but you can't see any of them, do you?" I hurriedly explained as I turned to Benjamin to argue my case.

"He's not looking where he's walking, but still avoiding every small pebble and rock in his way to move silently..." I added, pointing at the man, still blankly looking over Cassandra's head.

"One of his hands is pointing forward, while the other is pointing back behind him. He basically has 360 view of the arena..." I went on, gesturing at his hands.

"Ten eyes, ten fingers, I rest my case," I firmly concluded, nodding my head, satisfied at my reasoning, which I would have vehemently denied if I was not in the crazy world of DC comics.

"As much as I wanna say this theory of yours is ridiculous... I've seen weirder shit..." Benjamin said, sighing as he shook his head, but he didn't seem wholly convinced.

"The way you explained it did make some sense, though. I guess we'll just have to wait and see..." he concluded, shrugging his shoulders and dropping the subject as he resumed looking at the arena.

The two fighters were already in position and waiting for the fight to begin, and the announcer couldn't look more eager to oblige them even if he tried.

"Are the contestants ready?" the announcer asked as he looked between Cassandra and the Ten Eyed Man, to which they both nodded, looking as ready to fight as they could be.

"Then let the fight begin!"

...

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