Capítulo 105: Hard Choices
It was undoubtedly very interesting and, one could say, useful to master the correct prana control, but, firstly, I didn't have infinite stamina, and secondly, my reserve of vital energy began to deplete gradually, despite the fact that I didn't try to spend it at all, limiting myself to the most primitive manipulations without a clear vector. Well, except for another attempt at the beginning of the "active meditation" to channel some Qi to heal the scars in addition to the normal weave, but I couldn't be blamed for trying too hard. I didn't see much point in getting rid of the scars on my cheeks completely, as they added a nice touch to my appearance and served as a nice reminder that you should never underestimate your opponent, even if he looked like a sad clown. Moreover, even now there are only thin threads left of them, which can always be covered with Harley's toner or put on a small illusion, the cost of which will be covered by natural mana regeneration.
In short, by the end of the second hour I was really tired of imagining the pulsation of the imaginary nucleus and green waves of energy spreading through the body and saturating every cell of the body. That's why I decided to change my occupation, switching to studying natural sciences, for which I took out a tablet with downloaded textbooks from my pocket. By the way, after a not very successful start of my studies, when I couldn't even understand mathematics right away, I had to reconsider my approach to education a bit and, instead of studying everything independently and haphazardly, take as a basis the program of one of the top universities in robotics.
This direction suited me almost perfectly, because it combined several interesting and necessary for heroic amateurism disciplines, namely: programming, mathematics, physics, modern materials, microprocessor technology, electrical engineering and mechanics. In addition, the program I found didn't just belong to one of the top universities, it belonged to the institute where Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor had studied, and was completely open access, including tests to verify knowledge.
I suspect this was done not by accident, but on purpose to make it easier to find gifted people who might well be offered a scholarship for the opportunity to enroll. Naturally, I had no desire to get fully involved in my studies, even for the sake of pretty female students (I have Babs for that), so I limited myself to studying the material and solving problems on the passed material.
"What the hell kind of ritual is so complicated?" the question went out the window.
It was already the third hour of waiting, and I hadn't heard a word from the enchantress, but the worst thing was that I had a very strong desire to eat some of the candies I had brought.
"Nah, if I do that, I'll get killed for sure..." his gaze fell on the front door with the brass round handle that led to the hallway. - Hmm, Zee had always encouraged the pursuit of knowledge. I guess it wouldn't hurt if I spent a little time in the library, would it?" I pondered aloud, minimizing the open book window on my tablet.
Before leaving the cozy living room, I wandered aimlessly around the room for ten minutes, gathering my wits.
"Yes, that would be optimal. Zee, I'll be in the library if you need me," I said, hoping the witch would hear me and not curse the expensive guest with the cool gifts when she was done with her business.
I closed the door and immediately opened it, whispering the word-password at the same time. Surprisingly, the maneuver really worked, and in a moment I was already walking leisurely along the shelves, choosing something interesting to read. The abode of knowledge met me with an inexpressible atmosphere of silence and comfort, which I didn't want to break even for a moment with another word-activators, so I had to go down the spiral staircase to the level below and use the catalog on the pedestal to find all the information I was interested in.
There was quite a lot of literature on material illusions, but only two books were in English, so I started with them, wishing to understand the question at least a little, having made a note in my memory to learn Latin and Sanskrit.
Unfortunately, I managed to understand only about a fifth of what I had read, and that only because this discipline really combined shields and illusions, in which I more or less understand, thanks to the lectures of the enchantress and independent work.
The study of the material revealed that special symbols were indeed created for this school, combining the smoothness and airiness of ordinary illusions, as well as the symmetry and solidity of shield charms. From the peculiarities, it was noticeable that the bases were always different variants of triangles, which were sometimes combined into entire cascades, making them start to look a bit like attacking designs. Yes, I would hardly have been able to come up with something like this on my own, as I initially went about it the wrong way, trying to put an owl on a globe (an illusion on top of a shield design). Although I can't say that my version turned out to be a complete failure, because it worked... So what if it consumes energy just to maintain its integrity, "ordinary" material illusions can't boast of low mana requirements either.
While Zee was busy, I managed not only to read two interesting books, but also to scour the library, finding many interesting and useful spells to add to my arsenal. I might have stayed in the abode of knowledge all night, forgetting all about time, if it hadn't been for the alarm clock, which completely destroyed the mysterious atmosphere of the Shadow Peak.
"Shit, I was supposed to practice with Leroy today, or he's going to China tomorrow!" I exclaimed, staring in surprise at the clock, whose hands had turned into a vertical line.
It looked like the sorceress was doing a very complicated ritual, if she hadn't shown up and sent some kind of message by now. Distracting the sexy sorceress could be fraught with terrible consequences, so I quickly put all the books in their places, left a note of apology on the living room table, and headed out, deciding to visit again tomorrow. It would have to be later in the evening, since the mistress of Shadow Peak would probably be asleep.
I don't know why, but the dark-skinned man, despite the destruction of the court, was afraid to appear on the street, so he was glad to see me, because I could cast a privacy spell, and I was a punching bag that could be trained in martial arts.
I couldn't say it felt like training, though. Leroy just wiped the floor with me time after time, occasionally giving me advice. It seems like I don't need to endure painful blows like some kind of senen hero. Wouldn't it be easier to have a normal training session with setting up kicks, learning ligaments, and other stuff? Except, I already said that this body already had reflexes, and not bad ones, as well as a strange style that looked like a wild mix of boxing, karate, judo and dirty tricks. And some of the movements looked a little superfluous and not very effective, but they only looked like that, and in fact helped me to "elegantly" evade some of the blows and immediately counterattack (the latter did not work at all against a blind master of vin chun, but I did not give up hope).
Extremely fucked up and being told to come back tomorrow morning for the final workout, I went to Alfred's house to settle a couple things about the Plan.
As I was approaching the gates of the estate, I noticed a flickering shadow darting down from the high fence.
"Little man, are you there?" I slowed down at the rustling bushes.
"I'm not petty," the teenager grumbled unhappily, rising from his hiding place.
"Heh, okay, big one.
"Listen, did you start making old-people jokes before the blow to the head or after?" The kid asked with a chuckle, coming closer.
"As soon as I turned thirty. It's almost like a smartphone update: in the evening you're a twenty-nine-year-old young man with a burning eye and global plans for your life, like destroying the entire planet, and in the morning sand starts falling from every crevice, and all your dreams are limited to the destruction of a gloomy little town, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Okay, jokes aside," my voice turned serious. - Why are you running away from home? The romance of the streets?
Grayson crumpled a little, tugging himself constantly at the sleeves of his dark clothing, evoking associations with a ninja costume.
"Spill it. We may have to work together very soon.
The acrobat sighed heavily, casting a wistful glance at me.
"I've found where Zuko is hiding, but Bruce...
"Oh, I see," I interrupted him. - He was talking about responsibility and how you shouldn't be driven by revenge. Hmm... Come on, let's go for a ride to your Zuko.
The young avenger didn't seem very enthusiastic about my proposal. He seemed to be seriously considering walking to the city, but I really wanted to owe Nightwing a lot. And it's worth a little informal chat with the little fellow, so to speak. We have a very serious and important matter to attend to very soon, and it wouldn't do us much good if he didn't approach it with his sleeves up, or if he started to do something amateurish.
"Dick, quit being stupid and get in. The nearest bus will be here in an hour at best, by which time Bruce will have fished you out and banned you from the estate, reinforcing the security systems.
The guy sighed heavily, realizing I was right all over the place, and still climbed into the passenger seat, muttering: "thank you."
I quickly fix a diamond on the dashboard, repaint the vehicle in an inconspicuous dark blue color and press the gas pedal to the floor, starting off sharply. We really don't have a lot of time. Despite the fact that Bats is busy searching for the First and solving a lot of problems that arose after the mass suicide of rich bastards from a bird cult, the superhero will definitely find time to prevent the triumph of justice.
"So, what's the plan?" I asked as I drove past the gate leading to the Wayne estate.
After a ten minute narrative, during which time the car made it to Trigate Bridge, I'd like to say that things are a little more complicated than they first appeared.
For some reason I was pretty sure that the Grayson killer was some petty six-pack who was just calling himself a boss in an attempt to seem cooler, but in reality, this creep really was one of the mob bosses. And what's more, Anthony "Fatso" Zuko belonged to the Maroni family. Yeah, yeah, the same freaks that the Falcone clan and the First were after. I'd better not accidentally cross paths with the latter, or my brilliant plan might go to one place.
Well, I really hope neither he nor any of the other bandits would venture into the hotel room guarded by the valiant police. By the way, that was the biggest problem in the upcoming adventure.
Tony obviously felt the heat and decided to leak tons of dirt on his sworn friends and rivals in exchange for protection, so now he's in the witness protection program. It's a good thing that the little guy was well prepared, having managed to dig up not only information on the location of his blood-brother, but also the building plans and even the duty roster.
"You're really good. You did such a great job," I praised the guy, glancing at the information on my smartphone. - But have you thought about what you're going to do when you get to Tony?
"I... I don't know yet," Rick turned away from the window. - The guards inside are serious, and, to be honest, I'm not sure I'll be able to handle them all...
"Hey, don't piss off. Uncle Joker's gonna give you a little help. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" I laughed happily, anticipating a fun adventure.
"Joker?" The passenger clarified, distracted from his heavy thoughts.
"I winked slyly at the Knight of the Moonlight, but the Joker, I mean the First, is not used to it.
Twenty minutes later the Aston was parked in a dark alley off Newton Street, a short walk from the Pike Hotel, where the gangster was holed up.
"Wait," I slowed my partner down as he and I made our way to the roof of the nearest building, where I changed into a stylish purple suit (as I knew I should bring it with me).
"What else. We have an hour before the next shift arrives, and if we don't make it in time, we'll have to wait again until the guards are less vigilant," Richard was clearly nervous.
"Haste is only good for catching fleas, and we're planning to break into a building full of police. So take five minutes to meditate, get your head together, or-- Oh! Listen to the conversations, see if you can find out where Bats is now," I handed the guy a walkie-talkie tuned to the police frequency, and took out my cell phone to make one important call.
After a couple of beeps, the phone rang with my beloved's joyful voice, in which there were notes of fatigue.
"How are you doing?" I asked after the traditional exchange of greetings.
"It's a nightmare. Mr. J, maybe next time you can negotiate a commercial. Or at least we'll go through this hell together?" the girl asked pitifully.
"Is it that bad?
"Eh... Wildly tedious. Miss Quinzel, what color should the billboards be? Ms. Quinzel, what cities should we advertise in? Ms. Quinzel, maybe we should go with the color azure. - the blonde was clearly mocking someone. - It's like that on every fucking issue! And I can't even hit them with a bat to make them work faster and not ask stupid questions!" she lamented.
"Sorry, sunshine, you can rest tomorrow, I'll go to the agency myself.
"Uh, no need. We're almost done, we just need to agree on a budget. You can pick me up in about an hour and a half.
"Oh, so you're still in the office?" Looks like my next brilliant plan is going to succeed.
"Uh, yeah.
"All right! Don't go anywhere, I'll be there and we'll go to the restaurant. Love you, kisses.
I drop the call, and my gaze stumbles upon a grim-faced teenager who looks like he's trying to drill a hole in me, forgetting that he's not Superman and can't shoot lasers out of his eyes.
"You wasted your time just chatting on the phone with your girlfriend," a growl crept into his voice.
"Heh-heh-heh, naturally not," I reply, happily grinning.
"You know that's not an answer, right?" my interlocutor asked, after a minute of staring.
"Time for magic," I announced, continuing to look directly into the little one's eyes.
The cast speed still leaves a lot to be desired, but if you time it a bit and engage your memories, it comes out pretty spectacular.
~Click~
"И?" The boy looked around perplexed, trying to find what had changed.
"Oh, I almost forgot, wait two more minutes," I begin to weave new charms.
"Hey, what the hell!" he did notice the change when he looked down and found two attractive mounds and that his clothes had changed a bit in design and coloring.
"Now, out of the way," he clicked again, and Grayson continued to resent the woman's voice. - Oh, it's okay now.
"It's not fucking normal!" I was being stared at fiercely by my beloved as a mad harlequin.
"Oh, that's right, feel free to swear sometimes. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Why aren't you happy?! I looked at the indignant hamster and, unable to stand it, laughed again. - Ha-ha-ha-ha.
Richard was puffing, Richard was sniffling, Richard was trying to get rid of the illusion, but it was not for nothing that I spent nine diamonds on it at once, fixing the result and working the image well. Without magic, the boy had absolutely no chance to break the spell. After another ten minutes, we moved towards the target. Naturally, the young crime fighter was not satisfied with the fact that he had to fight in the image of the Joker's crazy assistant, but at the same time he could not help but admit that this disguise is almost perfect. The main thing was to keep from beating himself in the chest where there was emptiness.
I cast a simple illusion on myself, returning the scars to their previous gruesome appearance and tweaking my facial features a bit to look more like the First.
There was a fair amount of security inside the hotel, but they were opposed by a top-notch acrobat with martial arts pumped into his mind, as well as one superhero whose body went beyond the human limit.
We made our way into the room with all the noise and noise right through the window, rappelling down on cables. There were only three relaxed policemen on duty inside the room, looking forward to a quick shift. Dick took care of one of them, successfully banging his head against the countertop, and I got the other two.
You couldn't call it a fight. I even had to restrain myself a bit to keep from hurting myself, so it took me a relatively long time. Luckily, we worked in pairs, so Harley quickly barricaded the door, preventing reinforcements from arriving.
"What the hell is going on here..." Tony, himself, came out of the room scratching his huge ass in stretchy family shorts.
Looking at that carcass, I could see why he was nicknamed Fatty. He was about seventy feet tall, but he was almost the same width, like a lump on legs. Fear flashed in the pig's eyes when he saw the defenders lying on the floor.
"Bastard," the girl said through clenched teeth, rushing into the fray.
The bandit grunted and tried to run away, but he couldn't. Richard, in the guise of an insanely attractive blonde in a harlequin costume, caught up with his victim and gave him a mighty smack.
It sounded like something crunched, but I had to look away from the fascinating sight as someone began to pound insistently on the door.
While the kid practiced his punches on the meaty punching bag, I reinforced the barricade by the door.
"Bitch!
After another blow to the face, Tony could only move sluggishly, losing consciousness. Next to the defeated enemy stood... Standing there, breathing heavily, was Dick, looking hatefully at his blood enemy, whose body could boast of a bunch of bruises that were turning blue.
"Have you decided what you're going to do?" I asked, coming closer. - It's not that I'm opposed to killing, but you know very well... He's not likely to approve of such a deed.
"I'll do it differently," Richard replied firmly, and then he gripped the hog's right arm tightly.
~Skra-a~
I could hear ligaments and tendons tearing, cartilage and bone shifting, but Grayson didn't stop there. A sharp kick, and now the elbow was unlikely to be reassembled even by the most experienced surgeon. Then the other limb underwent a similar procedure.
"H-h-h-h," the boy breathed heavily through clenched teeth as he stood beside the body on the floor, whose arms looked as if they had been in a crusher.
Hmm... What an interesting approach... He had left his enemy alive, but now he was hardly a threat. Well, unless you count the contents of his head, but Zuko would probably be killed by his own, since he was willing to give them up in exchange for protection.
~Booh-booh-booh-booh~
The door slowly began to give way, which meant it was time to get the hell out.
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