Kobert, dragging his lame leg, quickly rounded the desk and grabbed the collar of his henchman who had collapsed on the carpet.
"What did you... What have you done?!"
"Boss! I swear, we did nothing!" The henchman cried, his face full of misery. Upon seeing Batman enter through the door, his first instinct was to turn and run.
Nowadays, Batman is scarier than ever.
Kobert slapped the henchman a few times, making him 'plump' up instantly.
"Nonsense! You must have secretly done something behind my back! Otherwise, why would Batman come looking for me?!"
"Really, we didn't do anything, boss! Boohoo, I swear!"
"Really nothing?" Penquin Man was adept at reading expressions, and the henchman before him certainly hadn't the guts to lie to him.
Could it just be bad luck?
Penguin Man couldn't help but tighten his belt; if possible, he was considering sending a henchman across the street to buy a chastity belt to wear.
"Really nothing! Boss, Batman is sitting in the restaurant now!"
Kobert took a deep breath; his long-standing qualities as a gangster leader kept him calm.
If Batman wanted to nab him, this office must have been broken into countless times already; him just sitting in the restaurant meant there was a task for him.
Kobert didn't care, as long as he could save himself, he'd even personally wax the Batman uniform.
"Phew... Call the guys, and let's go take a look; what exactly is Batman planning!"
He returned beside his desk and picked up his umbrella cane—it was his weapon.
Soon after, he gathered his hulking men and marched toward the restaurant.
..............
Of course, it's not Batman; that guy is currently paralyzed from the waist down.
But Batman himself would certainly keep this secret, and Luthor wouldn't spread this news either, leaving Gotham's villains in the dark.
If you can eat for free, why spend money?
As long as Strangulation can change a bit, Su Ming can totally 'face swipe' in Gotham.
He stored his gear in the sewer below Wayne Tower, even took off the Holy Statue Armor, keeping only Strangulation and the Magic Floating Cloak, transforming into Batman for a leisure trip in Gotham.
Starting with a meal, what's the most upscale restaurant in Gotham? Naturally, it's Penguin Man's Iceberg Restaurant, frequented by the city's elite.
The Iceberg Restaurant wasn't operating at midnight, but the door lock couldn't stop him. To mimic Batman's habits, he nostalgically used X Metal to flow into the lock hole and pried open the door.
Of course, all this was noticed by the restaurant's security; he casually walked past the surveillance camera, sitting at the best spot in the restaurant.
Next to him was the famous fountain, a huge crystal carved in the shape of an iceberg. He sat quietly, waiting for Penguin Man to come to him.
He already calculated; this is Penguin Man's base camp, breaking in like this and sitting without moving, given Kobert's character, he's bound to show up.
Moreover, just a little scare, and he'll likely be completely intimidated, serving him well.
Soon, the restaurant's lights illuminated, even the colored lights in the fountain began to operate, and the iceberg started spraying water.
Penguin Man emerged from the back of the hall.
He was still wearing that ridiculous suit, walking with a limp, yet the suit was sharp, and the hair impeccably groomed—bearing the demeanor of a gangster leader.
A group of brawny guys accompanied him, wielding various weapons, mostly melee weapons; it seems Penguing Man knew well that the Batman uniform is essentially a bulletproof vest.
But just by looking in his eyes, Su Ming knew the other was scared.
Although Penguin hid it well, Deathstroke was too familiar with fear; he could 'smell' even a hint of fear from the opponent.
"Batman!"
Kobert kept a safe distance, shouting loudly from afar, unwilling to get too close to a martial arts master like Batman. Just recalling past painful experiences, his whole body ached.
Su Ming didn't answer, only looked at him expressionlessly.
And this made Kobert even more anxious; he thought Batman was sizing up his waistband, surely this black-clad weirdo had some plan.
"Why, why did you come to my restaurant? I'm a law-abiding merchant now."
Penguin gripped the umbrella with one hand, the other holding his belt, as though this could prevent his pants from being pulled down.
"You know why I'm here."
The deep voice echoed in the restaurant.
Not just Penguin Man, even his henchmen instantly felt like a cold wind swept through; merely the voice struck terror, Batman tonight was even darker.
What had he encountered recently?
"I have done nothing, whatever you're looking for, I'm not involved!"
Penguin Man immediately dissociated himself; he didn't know what Batman was here for, nor did he want to know.
Meanwhile, he inwardly cursed 'someone' who offended Batman at this very moment.
Batman reached out a finger to tap the table, the contrast between the black uniform and the white tablecloth was stark: "You say, what is this place?"
"This place? This is my restaurant." Kobert gestured for his henchmen to protect him.
"Then why did I come to the restaurant?" Su Ming continued tapping the table.
"How do I know what you intend to do? You're Batman!" Kobert was on the verge of collapse, this familiar retort meant Batman was about to erupt: "You can't possibly be here to eat, right?"
Unexpectedly, Batman didn't erupt, instead nodded: "Yes, I'm here to eat, and given what you've done before, I don't plan on paying."
Penguin Man squinted his eyes, immediately suspecting this was a fake Batman.
Batman fully armed comes to Iceberg Restaurant to eat? Impossible when you think about it! Gotham hasn't gone that mad!
"Attack! Get him!"
He immediately commanded his henchmen to besiege Batman; if it is a counterfeit, he'll certainly make life a living hell for daring to mock him.
But when the counterfeit is Deathstroke, a martial arts master, things are entirely different.
Sau Ming mastered all techniques Batman knew.
Flattening others' knees with a stomp, shattering jaws into compound fractures, or breaking both arm bones completely.
All this for him was child's play.
Not only every move was exactly Batman's fighting habit, even the cloak thrashing or bat darts throwing actions were identical.
Of course, his bat darts were essentially parts of Strangulation ejected, that when unnoticed, would flow back and remerge.
Even though Kobert fought Batman for nearly twenty years, he detected no difference in Batman.
This habit, speed, power—this was the real Batman!
Except today his uniform seemed a bit greasy, but probably freshly waxed...
In less than ten seconds, all his henchmen lay on the ground, clutching their bones, wailing miserably.
Penguin Man turned to flee, but Batman swiftly emerged from the shadows beside him, gripping his shoulder tightly.
"Where are you going?"
"No! Spare me! I really did nothing!"
"Yes, you didn't do anything." Su Ming directly hoisted him with one hand, dragging him back to the table: "I've been here for three minutes and fifteen seconds, and you haven't even brought the menu."
Kobert was dangling like a doll in mid-air, his mouth open but speechless.
He suddenly had a bold idea; perhaps Batman really was here to eat? Is the end of the world coming?