Penguin's Trouble

Oswald Cobblepot.

The most powerful underworld emperor in all of Gotham City,

some called him the Penguin, but he hated the name. A penguin's bloated stupidity was utterly at odds with the grandeur he believed he possessed.

At that moment,

Cobblepot, dressed in a black-and-white striped tailcoat matching a crosswalk, leaned on his umbrella as he inspected his territory—the largest nightclub in Gotham!

It had Batman's and Harvey Dent's secret backing from the police.

It was also managed by the Penguin's own men.

It was a place that dealt with both the law and the underworld.

Yet it still qualified as the most dangerous place in Gotham. None of the people who came here were good people.

Though they were not as troublesome as Joker, Toyman, Riddler, or Poison Ivy, every one of the men currently lounging on the sofas had at least three lives on his hands.

The nightclub's original purpose was to gather villains together for surveillance and control.

The Penguin had achieved his goal of becoming the underworld emperor, Batman got the peace he wanted, and Harvey Dent handed in a perfect report to his superiors and received endless praise.

A three-way win.

"Harvey Dent, if you were still alive... what a pity..." The Penguin smiled and adjusted his glasses. Perhaps only Harvey Dent could understand what he meant by pity.

"Boss!"

The little giant, a full six feet five inches tall, crouched down and leaned close to the Penguin's ear. "Trouble's here."

Even crouching, he was still like a small mountain to the Penguin.

"Some little brats playing their shoving games in here again?" The Penguin did not care.

Whether it was horseplay or murder, it was all petty nonsense in his eyes.

Besides, he was in a very good mood.

The city's last two problems, Joker and the newly emerged Toyman, were dead and missing respectively.

He had been having a wonderful time these past one or two weeks.

No one would challenge his authority anymore. Even Batman had been holed up in Wayne Manor every day, never stepping outside.

"It's three women. They've got great figures."

Seeing his boss's displeased expression, the little giant hurriedly explained, "They're laughing."

"Laughing? This is supposed to be a place where people have fun." The Penguin frowned.

"No, I mean..." The little giant found himself unable to explain. Scratching his head, he said, "Come with me, and you'll understand when you see it."

"This had better be serious. I'm sure you don't want to lose your job!" The Penguin threatened as he walked beside the little giant. His head only reached the man's thigh, yet he held himself arrogantly, radiating an air of contempt for all beneath him.

The Penguin arrived in the main hall and saw the three finely dressed women. They had lovely figures and wore revealing clothes.

They held wineglasses and laughed.

Drunk women laughing loudly was nothing unusual.

Many wealthy businessmen who fancied themselves suave even liked to use such opportunities to find a fling.

But now, everyone had kept far away, staring at the three women.

The Penguin frowned as well.

Yes, they were laughing.

But their faces were covered in thick white foundation, with enormous smiling faces painted on in red.

Their smiles were crazed.

That image was taboo in Gotham.

Joker!

The Penguin had seen Joker's corpse with his own eyes.

He had even seen Batman's tears.

Joker really was dead. He had fallen to his death by accident.

The news had not yet been made public, but for the Penguin alone, it was enough to put all his worries to rest.

Joker had returned?

"Grab them!" Cobblepot waved a hand.

Three men as strong as iron towers stepped forward. Ignoring the women's struggles, they seized them, mercilessly wrapped tape around their wrists, and shoved them to the ground before Cobblepot.

"Joker?"

Cobblepot leaned forward, the tip of his umbrella lightly tapping one woman's cheek.

A tear spilled from the woman's eye!

The madness had vanished from the other two women as well, exposing their true natures instead.

They trembled as they whimpered and sobbed.

"Don't tell me this is a prank. Tell me everything while I'm still in a good mood!" The Penguin was becoming impatient.

That feeling, like peeling back layers of silk, as though the real bastard was always watching him from some corner, made him furious to the point of madness.

He knew the three women before him were only puppets.

"A man told us to do this. He gave us the clothes."

"He did our makeup."

"He told us to come here and drink, then start laughing at ten twenty-five. The louder we laughed, the better."

The three women spoke over one another without withholding anything.

"And then?" The Penguin was already certain that someone was playing a prank on him—a prank involving Joker!

"He said that after we laughed for a while, Mr. Cobblepot would definitely show up. We only had to tell you everything we knew, and you would give us one hundred thousand in cash."

"Blackmail?"

The Penguin laughed. A man he had never met, sending three women he did not know, with no terms for exchange, wanted to take one hundred thousand from him?

"I'm afraid he'll be disappointed. He won't get a single cent!"

The Penguin waved his hand. "Throw the three of them out!"

The nightclub's glass doors were pushed open, and the three women were violently thrown outside. They rolled across the ground several times before climbing back up.

That scene of them being thrown out attracted quite a bit of attention.

A younger woman hurried over and helped the three of them up.

The three women, who had been crying in terror just moments ago, wiped the white foundation from their faces and revealed smiles.

"Just like he said, that short fat Penguin would throw us out and wouldn't make things difficult for us. So expensive liquor tastes this much better than sewage from the sewers."

The world was unfair. At that moment, they understood it more deeply than ever.

Some people dressed in splendor, while they could only be imprisoned in cages by a man-eating monster, watching their companions get slowly devoured by that monster like midnight snacks.

"What should we do next?"

"What did he tell us to do next?"

The three women looked at the younger woman at the same time, seeking an answer.

While the plan was underway, only she had remained by his side.

The younger woman gently shook her head. "He might be going to Austria. I secretly saw him studying a map."

"He isn't planning to take us with him?" one woman asked.

"He never planned to take us with him," another answered.

"Austria?"

Britain and France had already become battlefields between Paradise Island and Atlantis. Austria lay on the edge of the area affected by the war.

It was the "safe zone" closest to World War III.

"We're going to Austria!"

The Penguin stormed back into his lounge.

His umbrella smashed heavily against the floor.

"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!"

He cursed angrily.

A single prank had already sent his heart leaping into his throat.

"What is that smell?" His hooked nose twitched.

It was the smell of disinfectant.

"You seem very angry, Mr. Cobblepot."

Behind the desk, a chair with its back to the door slowly turned.

A man sat in the Penguin's personal chair.

He wore a doctor's white coat, and the smell of disinfectant came from him.

"Toyman!"

The Penguin's heart skipped a beat.

The series of events from the past few weeks showed that Toyman was no longer some insignificant, mediocre criminal.

His abilities were far greater than anyone knew, and his mind was even more deranged.

According to news from Arkham Asylum, he had escaped Arkham alone. Even when surrounded on all sides, he had not chosen to flee. Instead, he tied the doctor who had administered electric shock therapy to him the previous day to the electric chair.

It was said that the Arkham doctor had already lost his mind and become Arkham's newest patient.

This man held grudges over the smallest slights. For the Penguin, that was definitely not good news.

"Were you the one who told those three women to come here and cause trouble?" The Penguin raised his head, yet his tone still sounded as though he were looking down on the man before him.

He was interrogating him.

"Are you ready to face my wrath, Penguin?" Li Zu braced himself on the desk and stood, looking down at the Penguin.

The Penguin's eyes shifted. He actually took the initiative to seek peace.

Raising his voice, he shouted, "My dear Toyman, you have to believe me, I absolutely wasn't the one who fired the gun that day!"

It was a signal for the men outside.

What puzzled the Penguin was that Li Zu was unmoved by his actions and simply let him shout.

Li Zu vaulted over the desk and walked up to the Penguin.

The Penguin swung his umbrella at him. This umbrella had undergone countless scientific modifications; with the press of a small hidden button, Li Zu could die in seven or eight different ways.

But Li Zu merely grabbed the umbrella.

And in that instant, the umbrella rapidly changed into a plastic toy umbrella.

Another large hand filled with magic pressed down on the Penguin's head.

His voice was like a devil's low murmur from the Black Forest.

"Penguin, are you ready to be displayed in my showcase? I'll save the spot with the best view for you~"

Thanks to "Tell Shiokawa Who Is the Kami of the New World" for the tip.

(End of Chapter)