With These Hands

The exams took place over the course of the week, with me writing multiple of them a day and each one brought a smile to my face as I filled the answer sheets at record speed. The amount of muttered curses that were thrown my way were almost amusing. 

It was with all of my self control that I barely stopped myself from compelling a fellow examinee to forget every scrap of knowledge he prepared for the exams after he insulted my mother. I settled for making him shit himself on his way out. 

I'm nice like that. 

Some of the results are already out and looking good. It's only a matter of time before I can really get moving but until then, there's still a lot to do. 

I'm back at the homeless shelter where things were looking a bit better than the last time I was here. The stench that greeted me the last time was absent, that was to be expected after I sent over a potent cleaning solution I put together with a few merges. 

The wooden parts of building weren't so bad that they needed to be completely replaced, just a few touch ups here and there. The rundown furnitures were replaced, new beds, tables and all that. The plumbing was tough work but Gotham is run by money so it only took some cash waving to get things moving. 

All in all, it was a few steps up from what I encountered weeks ago. Progress is quite a slope after all. 

"It's all looking good here." I said, looking through a series of papers in the manager's office. This time, I was seated behind the desk with Gabriel across from me. Power balancing and all that. "Have there been any problems so far?"

Gabriel thought for a moment before speaking. "Well we're a bit understaffed for the direction you want to take this place."

"I already know about that. I plan to have more people join your workforce but first this place needs to look pleasant enough to work in." I could compel more staff but I don't want to get too reliant on it. "Anything else?"

"Morale is higher now that there's more food to go around and we're seeing more people coming in. If it goes on like this we'll run out of space soon enough." Gabriel said, making me nod my head. I'd thought of that but I figured I'd have more time. Then he visibly grew nervous. "Some thugs showed up and started some trouble a few days ago about protection money."

I could have sworn that he squeaked as I leveled my gaze on him. "And you waited until now to mention this?"

"N-normally we can barely keep a light bulb on so I guess it wasn't worth the effort to shake us down but now…" he trailed off as my eyes narrowed even further. 

I fight the urge to reach over and smack him across the face, mostly because I'm sure his neck would snap. 

Shaking up low end or rising businesses was a common tactic employed by the grunts and criminals of Gotham to gain them more infamy and funds to run their dirty operations. 

"Do you have any idea who sent them here?" I asked, a sense of exasperation growing as he shook his head. "Did they leave anything behind? Anything at all?"

As he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife, I massaged my temple with one hand and snatched it with the other hand. 

"He left this when he used it to pin me to the wall with my clothes." I don't even want to have that image in my head. 

+++++

-[Pocket Knife]

-[An old pocket knife belonging to Faris Thompson.]

+++++

I'd figured out the intent based theme of the system's functions, allowing it to give me relevant information to what I need.

Faris Thompson… can't say I've ever heard that name before. 

"I'll look into it but in the meantime," I glared at him, my full attention focused. "The next time someone commits even the slightest act of vandalism I want to hear about it immediately. Am I understood?"

The man nodded his head so fast I feared his neck would snap. "Of course!"

I don't know who Faris is but I'm sure I can find out. That's what connections are for, aren't they?

"For now, compile a list of all the residents along with their skills, level of education and health problems. Get that to me as soon as you can." I said, getting a nod. He'd probably miss some details but I'd still go through it myself with the use of appraisal later. 

Anything to make my workload a bit lighter. Besides, I have something just as pressing that needs my attention. 

Xx-Xx-Xx

The Iceberg lounge. It's my second time being here since my first meeting with Cobblepot. Making my way to the crime lord's office was easier than the last time, Tracey leading me in once more. 

"So, the rising star returns, and without a proper invitation." Oswald said, his tone almost light if it weren't for the tightening in the corner of his eyes. 

"I'm sure you can forgive this intrusion. After all, it shouldn't be something that should create a rift between us." I said in a formal manner, a small smile on my face. 

I had the upper hand on Cobblepot and he knew it. The more Euphoria he bought, the deeper into my grasp he led himself. His customer's are no doubt raving over it and abruptly stopping his sale of it would be a blow to him that he just wouldn't accept. I could start selling it elsewhere and those customers would follow along like sheep. 

I'm the only supplier of the drug so he couldn't do much to harm me and risk losing his newly thriving business. There was also his pride. 

"What do you want?" Cobblepot ground out, taking a drag of his cigar. 

"I'm looking for a certain someone and while I could eventually find them myself, I thought it best to experience the quality of your services." I said, my tone deliberately casual. 

"I hope you don't expect me to help you out of the goodness of my heart. I'm running a business here, not a charity." He bit back while still managing to sound professional. 

"Heavens no. Money is not a problem, you're well aware of that. Help me find who I'm looking for and you'll have your fee." I said, looking at the man who had a pondering look for a moment. 

"I'll cut you some slack. We're 'partners' after all." He said, making my eyes narrow. "You give me a discount on our next deal and I'll gladly help you find whoever you're looking for, no charges."

I barely contained the laugh that escaped my lips. "That's not happening." The frown on his face was telling but I continued, undeterred. "Make no mistake, while I respect your influence, you are not infallible."

His frown deepens at the blatant disrespect. I've been playing it safe so far but I've got a good enough grip on him to start pushing. 

"You're growing balls kid. Maybe too much." He snapped his fingers and the buff man that stood in the corner of the office stalked up to me, grabbing me by my shirt. 

My hand shot up, grabbing his wrist and squeezing hard. Cracks and crunches were heard as the man let out a scream, falling to his knees in pain. 

"I'll have you know that I am not as fragile as you may think. You'll need more than overgrown henchmen to frighten me." I said slowly. The startled look on Cobblepot's face was worth it as the man's grip on his table turned white. 

"Do you really think you'll gain anything from that, boy? I can have every gunman in here in seconds. You won't leave this place alive if I decide so." He growled out, glaring at me. 

"You may try but can your men get here before I tear out your eyeballs and feed them to you?" I asked, channeling my inner Elijah Mikaelson. "Should you miraculously have some method of putting me down, it wouldn't change the fact that you'd already be dead. Everything you've worked for, the plots, the schemes…all of that won't matter when your heart is across the room."

I could see the gears turning in his head. Cobblepot was a man with connections and financial power but he is still just a man. Most of all, he is a man who fears death. 

"You're bluffing!" Cobblepot spat out, the next moment, the doors bursting open as numerous men pushed their way in, armed with guns. "Looks like you wasted your opportunity monologuing."

"Oh not necessarily." I said, a small smile on my face. 

I blurred into action, grabbing one man by the neck and tossing him into another one. The spurred them to act, taking fire at my speeding form. I pulled another man in front of me, using him as a meat shield and tossing him away before grabbing his gun and breaking it across the shooter's face. 

The office was a scene of chaos as I sped around, brutalizing and disabling them, knocking the last man standing by smashing his face into the wall. 

I stalked behind Cobblepot's desk, seeing him crouched behind it, a shotgun firing into my chest the next moment. At least it would have if it wasn't for the ring of shielding I'm currently wearing. 

The man's eyes widened in fear as I grabbed him before pulling him up to his feet. "You win! You win! W-what do you want?"

"Now we're talking." I said, mockingly dusting off his clothes. "You see Oswald, I've been on the backfoot for a while now and I find it somewhat…annoying playing defense. I decided to push my timetable up a bit and get started."

Forcing him to sit down in his seat, I took the seat opposite him, around us the unconscious body of his security personnel. 

"As for what I want, I want everything. It's time for Gotham to welcome a new player to the board. I'm sure we'll make a fantastic team, don't you agree?" I asked, reveling in the way he shivered in his seat. 

I've been too passive, allowing myself to be pushed around by the waves of what happens around me. Always reacting and never just acting, no more. 

Mother might have taught me to treat others with kindness but she also possessed a Shakespearean rage that no one could quench. 

Pulling a syringe out of my pocket, I held it in front of his face. "Care to take a guess as to what this is?"

He didn't answer but that was fine, it was a rhetorical question anyway. "This is a more potent variant of Euphoria, at least ten times as potent and ten times more addictive. Now I've only ever tested this out once and I don't exactly have visitation hours to review his progress so you have the honor of being the second."

Before he could react, I was already beside him, injecting it into his neck. A disgusting gasp left his mouth as he shivered and shook in place. My senses already showed me the result of his euphoric experience. 

It took a complete ten minutes for him to come down from the immense pleasure high, his eyes unfocused and frantic while managing to look tired. He opened his mouth to speak but only shaken whispers escaped. 

"Ah yes, another warning. Even if you consume all your stock of Euphoria at once, it wouldn't even come close to what you just experienced. So unless you want to go about the rest of your days like an addict suffering from withdrawal, I suggest that you fall in line."

I guess I inherited more than just looks from my mother after all.