บท 40: Trouble Brewing #40
Author's note: power stones are life, power stones are love; give me power stones!
...
Gotham City
An abandoned building in The Narrows
I squinted my eyes, glaring at the three bricks I placed ten meters away from me. My fingers twitched, and I immediately reached for Ivory, taking it out and firing five shots in the time it took for one to blink.
"Good thing no one is watching..." I muttered with a sigh, bitterly smiling while gawking at the three intact bricks, having missed every shot I took with Ivory.
I've spent the last three days cooped up in my apartment, waiting for the heat to die down as I kept fiddling with the laptop I stole, grinding the Computers skill, without much success as I only managed to raise it one level.
I needed a better computer if I was to grind the skill faster, so I contacted Selina and told her I needed something advanced, hoping she'd point me in the right direction.
I'm supposed to meet Selina later today since she said she also had something important to talk to me about and that we better discuss it in person.
Other than that, nothing worth mentioning happened, except for some increase in gang activity and violence according to the news, but it was nothing new or novel in Gotham so I didn't really give it much thought.
In any case, I got bored with staying cooped up in my apartment, so I went out to try my new toys, and even though I spent some time watching shooting tutorials, I still sucked.
'I can shoot just fine if I take my time, but rapid firing with Ivory is way beyond my level...' I mused, sighing as I put Ivory back into its inventory and drew Ebony.
I calmly aimed and fired at the first brick and didn't miss. The condensed energy projectile did nothing other than slightly push the target backward.
I increased the energy input and fired again, and the brick flew backward, still intact, causing me to smile as I raised the energy input to the maximum and fired at the second brick.
The shot connected, and the brick immediately burst into pieces.
'Nice... I definitely need to get better with using guns..' I smiled under my helmet as I made my way toward the last brick. I raised my index finger in front of my face and concentrated my energy into it, causing it to shine in a golden light that seeped out of my gloves.
I slowly reached for the last brick and gently tabbed it with my finger, causing it to shatter in the same manner as the second one did.
'Damn, I need to put more points into my spirit attribute...' I mused, feeling the drain using this move put on my energy reserve, which the system didn't deign to quantify for some reason.
'I still have the full day until it's time to meet up with Selina...' I mused as I stored my gear in my inventory, equipping my street clothes instead. 'I'm running low on money, and it's been a while since I practiced my crime skill...' I shrugged as I exited the abandoned building, making my way towards Uptown Gotham.
...
The Diamond District
"What is the Intergang doing in Gotham?" Batman blankly asked, staring into the eyes of the Penguin's henchman that was tied up and hanging upside down in front of the dark knight.
The Intergang specialized in peddling illegal alien technology and usually avoided Gotham because of the city's chaotic nature and the numerous gangs and supervillains controlling the town.
However, they suddenly came in full force and started making trouble all over the city, picking fights with every crime lord they could find without exception.
Black Mask, who was already going on a rampage in his search for Harley Quinn, didn't take kindly to the Intergang's intrusion into his city, and his gang quickly got into conflict with the newcomers.
And to make things worse, The Penguin, being the opportunistic crime lord that he was, started fanning the flames by attacking both parties and riling up other gangs to take action against Intergang as invaders to the city while plotting to overthrow Black Mask.
"I'm not telling you shit, freak," the henchman scowled, turning to the side and spitting in disgust. "I haven't done anything wrong. You can't touch me!" he calmly concluded, going quiet as he noticed Batman's eerily calm demeanor.
Batman didn't reply, and the gangster's eyes widened as the dark knight loosened the rope, causing him to fall headfirst into the ground while screaming and flailing around.
Batman tightened the rope and stopped him merely an inch away from the ground, pulling him back up until they were staring into each other's eyes again, causing the Penguin's henchman to gulp.
"Talk. Now," Batman instructed as he reached for the rope again, causing the henchman to panic immediately.
"I don't know much! I only know Intergang is here to look for someone who stole their shit!" the henchman exclaimed in a panic, unable to do anything but bitterly squirm around in the air.
"That's all I know, I swear!" and that was the henchman could say before Batman loosened the rope, making him fall again. He stopped before hitting the ground again, causing him to sigh in relief with sweat running up his forehead and falling to the floor.
He waited for several seconds, but Batman didn't pull him up again, and he immediately realized why.
"Hey! You can't leave me here!" the henchman exclaimed, but no answer came, as the dark crusader was already long gone.
...
East End
I squeezed the brakes, stopping my bike in front of Selina's club as I took off my helmet and made for the entrance. The bouncer nodded at me in greeting, and I returned the gestures as I made my way inside.
I made a straight line for the VIP booth and opened the door after knocking once, immediately spotting Selina sitting on a couch with a relaxed smile.
"Selina," I greeted with a nod. The brunette returned the greeting and gestured for me to take a seat. I obliged, leaning into the couch to make myself comfortable as I sat.
"I hear you and Harley were making yourselves busy," Selina said, raising an eyebrow as she smiled before I could get a word in, causing me to shrug my shoulders.
"We were after the same target, and we worked together since we'd only get in each other's way otherwise," I replied, gesturing to the side. I didn't feel like killing the crazy blonde anymore, but I still wanted nothing to do with her.
Besides being bat-shit crazy and unpredictable herself, Harley was connected to the Joker and Poison Ivy, two people I didn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole for apparent reasons.
"Black Mask doesn't seem to see it that way," Selina said, her smile disappearing, replaced by a frown. "He's been tearing down the city, looking for Harley and Harley alone," she added, her expression displeased as she gestured to the side.
'Good thing I covered my tracks and didn't kill his henchmen in the warehouse...' I mused, raising an eyebrow, but I didn't reply since Selina looked like she had more to say.
"Don't you think that's rather too convenient for you?" Selina blankly asked, giving me a bemused look, but she still had more to say, so I patiently waited.
"Almost as convenient as Intergang is turning Gotham upside down looking for me," the brunette added. Her expression finally showed signs of anger as she regarded me with an impatient expression.
"The USB stick?" I asked when Selina looked like she had finished speaking, keeping my tone and expression neutral. I might have overdone the hidden mastermind act, and she probably thinks I used her and Harley as scapegoats for Black Mask and the Intergang.
"It had blueprints for a kryptonite-based weapon and the plans to use it," Selina replied with a nod, still sounding pissed, but she was a bit calmer right now.
"And I'm guessing you passed it to Batman?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as she nodded. I already had a guess as to why Intergang was so pissed, but I still needed to be sure.
They probably intended to use the kryptonite weapon on Superman or something, but Catwoman passing the USB stick to Batman must have spoiled their plans, and they were here looking for her.
"I already informed you about the USB stick's origin when I gave it to you, Selina," I remarked, shaking my head as I heaved a sigh with an exasperated expression.
"You could have sold it, sent it back to Intergang, or even threw it in the trash, but you took it to Batman," I added, shrugging my shoulder, to which the brunette's eyes twitched in annoyance.
"I have no idea why they'd be looking for you since I took the USB stick from a rogue Intergang member myself, and it can't be difficult for them to find that out," I said, my tone genuinely confused.
I really didn't know why Intergang was targeting Selina instead of me.
...
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