Iceberg Lounge, Second Floor.
Until now, the Iceberg Lounge's second floor had gone unused. But Mr. Cobblepot felt his clientele was growing, and the first floor alone was no longer enough.
So he had the second floor renovated, planning to move the bar upstairs to make more room.
He had even thoughtfully installed an elevator that went straight to the second floor.
"This place is quite nice, Penguin."
Penguin showed his distinguished guest around, and then the guest spoke.
Penguin didn't mind that the other man called him Penguin to his face.
"Mr. Freeze, you can see for yourself that I'm very wealthy!"
Penguin Cobblepot said, "Work for me, and I'll give you what you want."
Mr. Freeze wore a suit of high-tech low-temperature armor, with his head encased inside it. He looked chillingly imposing.
He was someone Penguin had brought in to help him unite Gotham's underworld.
Mr. Freeze said, "I'm not a criminal. I just want to make money."
Penguin chuckled and tapped his umbrella against the floor. "How are you going to make money in Gotham? Don't tell me you're planning to do it through research."
Without hesitation, Mr. Freeze replied, "By organizing crime."
"Exactly. Batman won't let you get away with that."
Penguin laughed. "That guy goes easy on capitalists, but he keeps a tight leash on people like us."
"So, as far as he's concerned, what you're doing makes no difference."
Mr. Freeze grew agitated at that. "I'm not making money to indulge myself. I just want to cure my wife. I need money to fund my experiments!"
"I understand, I understand."
Penguin took out a cigar and enjoyed it, then blew out a smoke ring. "But Batman won't understand. He'll just arrest you and lock you up in Arkham Asylum."
Mr. Freeze fell silent.