Penguin's Trouble

Oswald Cobblepot.

The most powerful underworld emperor in all of Gotham City,

some called him the Penguin, but he hated that title. Penguins' bloated stupidity completely clashed with the grandeur he saw in himself.

At that moment,

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

Batman and Harvey Dent of the police secretly supported this place.

Penguin's own men managed it as well.

It was a place that thrived on both sides of the law.

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

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

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

Penguin had achieved his goal of becoming an underworld emperor, Batman had gained the peace he wanted, and Harvey Dent had 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..." 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 beside Penguin and leaned close to his ear. "Trouble's here."

Even crouching, he still loomed over Penguin like a small mountain.

"Some little punks playing their shoving games again?" Penguin did not care.

Whether they were brawling or killing, 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, had one died and the other disappeared.

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

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 have 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." Penguin frowned.

"No, I mean..." The little giant realized he could not explain it clearly. Scratching his head, he said, "Come with me, sir. You'll understand when you see them."

"This had better be serious. I'm sure you wouldn't want to lose your job!" Penguin threatened as he walked beside the little giant. His head only reached the man's thigh, yet he strutted with an air of utter superiority.

Penguin entered the main hall and saw the three elegantly dressed women. They had alluring figures and revealing clothes.

They held their wineglasses and laughed.

Drunk women laughing loudly was nothing unusual.

Many self-proclaimed romantic wealthy businessmen even enjoyed using such opportunities to find a fling.

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

Penguin frowned as well.

That was right. They were laughing.

But their faces were covered in thick white foundation, with huge smiling mouths painted in red.

Their smiles were mad.

That image was taboo in Gotham.

Joker!

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

He had even seen Batman's tears.

Joker really was dead, having fallen to his death by accident.

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

Joker had returned?

"Grab them!" Cobblepot waved a hand.

Three men built like iron towers stepped forward. Ignoring the women's struggles, they seized them, ruthlessly bound their wrists with tape, and shoved them down in front of Cobblepot.

"Joker?"

Cobblepot leaned forward, lightly patting a woman's cheek with the tip of his umbrella.

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 and whimpered as they sobbed.

"Don't tell me this is a prank. Tell me everything while I'm still in a good mood!" Penguin said impatiently.

That feeling of peeling back layers, as if the real bastard were always watching him from some corner, drove him mad with irritation.

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 at ten twenty-five, start laughing. The louder, the better."

The three women spoke over one another without concealing anything.

"And then?" Penguin was already certain that someone was pranking him—using Joker for the prank!

"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?"

Penguin laughed. Someone he had never met wanted to take one hundred thousand from him by sending three women he did not know, without offering anything in exchange?

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

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

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

Being thrown out like that drew plenty of attention.

A younger woman hurried over and helped the three of them to their feet.

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

"Just like he said, that short, fat Penguin would throw us out without making things difficult for us. So expensive liquor tastes so much better than sewer water."

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 man-eating monsters, watching their companions get slowly devoured like midnight snacks.

"What do we do next?"

"What did he tell us to do next?"

The three women all looked toward the younger woman, seeking an answer.

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

The younger woman gently shook her head. "He might go to Austria. I secretly saw him looking at a map."

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

"He was never planning to take us with him," another replied.

"Austria?"

Britain and France had become battlefields for Themyscira and Atlantis. Austria lay on the edge of the area affected by the war.

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

"Let's go to Austria!"

Penguin stormed back into his lounge.

His umbrella slammed heavily onto the floor.

"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!"

He cursed furiously.

A single prank had already put his heart in his throat.

"What's 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 Penguin's personal chair.

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

"Toyman!"

Penguin's heart skipped a beat.

The series of events from several weeks ago showed that Toyman was no longer some insignificant, pathetic criminal.

His abilities were more powerful than anyone knew, and his mind was even crazier.

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

It was said that the Arkham doctor had lost his mind and become a new patient at Arkham.

This guy never forgave a grievance. That was absolutely not good news for Penguin.

"Were you the one who told those three women to come here and cause trouble?" 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 against the desk and stood, looking down at Penguin.

Penguin's eyes shifted, and he actually took the initiative to seek peace.

Raising his voice, he shouted, "Dear Toyman, you have to believe me! I definitely wasn't the one who fired that shot that day!"

It was a signal to the men outside.

What puzzled Penguin was that Li Zu did not react at all, letting him shout as much as he wanted.

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

Penguin swung his umbrella backward. The 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.

In that instant, the umbrella rapidly transformed into a plastic toy umbrella.

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

His voice was also like a demon's bass rumbling through the Black Forest.

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

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

(End of this chapter)