"Get out of here!" Penguin said irritably. "I just had a few run-ins with that Bat before I went straight. It wasn't anything like what you're saying."
Roland spread his hands. "Fine. If thinking that makes you feel better."
"I'm not wasting my breath on you." Penguin rolled his eyes. This guy had come to give him trouble with Batman back then. He knew all about it, so Penguin couldn't even argue.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"I'm done shooting the shit with you two." Penguin decided to go find some validation among the celebrities. Talking to these two was downright aggravating. "I'm going to see if I can expand my network."
"The two best-connected people in all of Gotham are standing right in front of you. Why bother talking to those people?" Roland said. "Your judgment isn't all that great, either."
"Exactly." Bruce nodded.
"I have nothing to say to either of you." Penguin headed into the crowd.
"How come his temper got worse after he went legit?" Roland was puzzled. Penguin hadn't been this confrontational even when he was a crime boss. "Is he in a bad mood?"
"Who knows?" Bruce shook his head. "If it were someone else, I'd guess they felt less guilty now that they'd stopped doing bad things. But Penguin? That's clearly not it."
"Still, he's finally gotten his wish and joined Gotham City's high society," Roland remarked. "There aren't many people in Gotham higher up the social ladder than him now."
"Tell me about it. I hear he's even starting a children's foundation soon—and he specifically told me not to come."
"So what are you going to do?"
"What do you think? Obviously, I'm going to steal his thunder," Bruce said matter-of-factly. "I'll paint that Lamborghini SC20 pink and drive it straight into the venue.