The Greedy Frog
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DC: The Enchanter Chapter 79
🕑 Added 2023-10-23 16:13:32 +0000 UTCChapter 79: The Voting Day
'This is ridiculous.'
Violet Belrose – a girl with an intelligence quotient barely seen in humans, and a girl who had analyzed every known type of personality and considered herself a master at reading people – was baffled by the man in front of her.
'How can someone be so two-faced?'
But the man sitting next to her, with a stone-cold face, exceeded her wildest expectations.
"So, Miss Belrose,"
Her eyes were drawn to the voice that called her name.
"From what Mr. Hughes said and from the information provided in these documents, I am inclined to believe that you had no former connection with Mr. Hughes."
"That is correct, sir," she said, refraining from referring to the man with a nickname regarding his balding head.
No matter how mischievous she was, she knew when not to make jokes.
"Mr. Addams."
She saw the man responsible speak.
"I presented you with video proof, a well-documented list containing names of heroes and villains responsible for the harm of countless innocents in Gotham over the past few months." The man, dressed in the most elegant of suits, frowned. "I requested the city council countless times to help protect Serenora and the powerless business owners from the superpowered heroes and villains."
She watched his frowning expression.
"I provided you with proof upon proof, gave half of my income to the government in the name of taxes and development," he tightened his fist, "Yet what did I get in return? The very place that I established to be safe from the villains, providing for the weak and the unfortunate, was attacked by the very heroes that were meant to protect the people."
He looked at everyone present.
"What is the point of such a government if they cannot even protect the innocent?"
"Mr. Hughes, you are crossing the line!" One of the men in the meeting yelled but was immediately silenced by the frowns of the higher-ups present in the room.
"I am crossing the line?" Jasper scoffed. "Yet when Arrow destroyed the shops established by the hardworking men of Serenora, that was not crossing the line? When Joker killed countless and the government did nothing, that was not crossing the line?"
Jasper was not simply angry; he was fuming.
"Where does this hypocrisy end?" He laughed. "I know you all do not have the ability to deal with any of these heroes and villains. So, should I get more involved than I already am? Should I deal with them so that you all can continue to enjoy the privileges provided to you by the hardworking people who are suffering in your place?"
Many of the men did not like what Jasper was saying; they hated his words.
But they were powerless in front of him.
Because he wasn't wrong.
They had done nothing to stop the heroes nor the villains. And even if they did, they failed miserably.
And if they wanted to shut Jasper up, they couldn't.
Why?
Because he was simply too strong for them to handle.
Seeing how the situation was escalating so quickly, a certain man decided to intervene.
"M-Mr. Hughes–" The man stood up, "Please calm down."
The man was none other than the mayor of Gotham – Aubery James.
"I know that lately the authorities of Gotham, as well as the central government, have been unable to do much regarding beings with superpowers," he sounded embarrassed, "But I promise that we will work to the best of our abilities to handle this situation."
"Promises of politicians have never meant anything, Mr. James," Jasper said, making many angry and many embarrassed.
But there was not much they could do. After all, he wasn't wrong.
"We are greatly ashamed by our failure."
This was not a statement made by Aubery but by a member of the current ruling party.
"I know we cannot make up for the losses suffered by the people," he expressed his pain, "But we can assure you that we will try our best so that another situation such as this does not arise."
Jasper stared at the man, "And what if it does arise? Do you have the ability to stop it?"
This was when another man stood up.
"Upon discussion with the members of the White House, we… have decided to give you full authority to diffuse the situation using your abilities if such a situation were to arise."
"No!" Another politician tried to oppose, "We cannot give a single individual such authority."
Followed by the displeasure of another man, "We cannot allow that!"
Some of them wholeheartedly believed that it was extremely dangerous to give a single man such authority, and their belief was justified.
However, the rest that disagreed did so for the sake of disagreeing.
In politics, if one party goes right, the opposition goes left.
If one says yes, the other says no.
And this scenario was no different.
Aubery knew that if he was unable to win Jasper's favor, he was going to be doomed.
"Gentlemen," he voiced, "Till now, Mr. Hughes has only worked for the good of the people, and every time he used his powers, it has been to protect the innocent."
But the opposition stood strong.
"Throughout our country's history, we have had many great men. But even if they did something for the good of everyone, they had been punished if they did that good by going against the law." The opposition countered, "We cannot make an exception even if it is Mr. Hughes."
In honesty, they were scared of Jasper.
They knew what he was capable of.
A single man that neutralized the Justice League was not someone normal humans could deal with.
But they still stood with their beliefs.
In one way, Jasper respected them for being adamant, but he was also aware that this belief has been a root cause for slowed development and the delivery of justice.
"How about this," Jasper looked around, "Everyone in here knows that there are often times when heroes go rogue… Green Arrow has been the most recent case. And it is without a doubt that such cases will occur in the future as well."
Everyone listened intently.
"I will help the government neutralize such heroes, and in return, I get full control over Serenora," he looked around, "No governmental interference."
"This…"
The people wanted to counter, but Jasper had counters to their counters.
"Gentlemen," he said in a very professional tone, "Everyone present here knows that it is barely a display, a cosmetic effect." He smiled, "The presence of governance in Gotham, that is."
This angered a few, but Jasper continued.
"Gotham is a hotspot for crime, and unlike other places, it has countless superpowered villains that no military power can handle," he continued, "Now I am well aware that there are certain superpowered individuals working with the government strong enough to neutralize even Superman."
This made everyone tense.
"But you also know that you cannot show them in public… at least not until it is a doomsday-level threat," he said, making the men look down. "I am someone who is already known by the public, and I am known for fighting both heroes and villains."
"What are you insinuating?" a tall man asked.
"I am suggesting what I suggested earlier," Jasper replied, "I help you with those cases, and in return, you do not interfere with Serenora. No, I want support from the government for the development of Serenora."
"That is n–"
"Or we fight for it."
A single sentence.
A single sentence spoken with the calmest of smiles.
But it was a sentence that silenced everyone.
"N-Now there is no need for such unnecessary bloodshed, Mr. Hughes," Aubrey said, gulping thickly.
He was fully aware that if they fought, and even if they won, they would lose far more than they could afford.
"How do we explain this to the public?" the opposition asked, "We cannot tell the public that we are supporting a man that destroyed so much."
Jasper stared straight at the man.
"Mr. Andrews, correct?"
The man nodded nervously at the addressal.
"Tell me, Mr. Andrews," Jasper grinned, "Currently, who does the public believe in more? The government that did nothing for so many years, or me, who killed Joker within months of my public appearance and took down a rogue hero, built a district developing Gotham and providing livelihood for countless?"
He showed a smile that scared many, "Tell me, Mr. Andrews? Who would the public believe in?"
The entire room went silent.
"There," Jasper said, leaning back a little, "There you have it. Your answer."
"What… about the heroes?" One of the men asked.
Now, many of the supporters who stood with Jasper were not actually with Jasper – instead, they were officials bought by Aubrey to stand with Jasper.
Without Jasper's knowledge.
Or at least that's what Aubrey believed.
Aubrey had a very sinister and dark look, "We… can paint their already stained picture even darker."
"We cannot."
A man opposed immediately.
"They have protected us and our families for God knows how long. We cannot pay them back in such a disgraceful manner."
To that, Aubrey had a counter.
"Then tell me, what about the times when their actions caused the loss of innocent lives? The times when many of their enemies came to fight them – be it aliens, their own created robots, or even cosmic entities that came to fight the heroes and ended up killing innocents instead."
Aubrey was adamant in standing with Jasper.
"That, I believe, is more than enough to offset the times they saved us."
"That…"
There were a few skeptical voices, but it was not for long.
"How about we cast our votes?" The oldest among the men suggested, "That is how we have been doing things since ancient times."
This was exactly what Aubrey was waiting for.
"I believe we should."
"Yes."
"We should."
And just like that, the result was decided.
…
…
I mean… I already knew this was going to happen.
"The mayor… he bought the votes, didn't he?"
This girl was smart, ridiculously so.
"He did."
Ivy ran a few IQ tests on her, and the results were shocking, to say the least.
And as for the meeting…
It went in my favor, of course it would have.
"Did he talk to you before today?" She asked, and I shook my head, making her mutter. "I see."
For a kid that was barely a teenager, she caught on quick.
But now that I think about it, she is not someone that I know.
Of course, I did not possess absolute knowledge of this world. But I wonder if she is an already established character or an unknown.
"You said you don't have anywhere to go, do you?"
She shook her head, "I don't."
This was tough. While she was super smart, she was still a kid, and putting her in my circle without being fully aware of her was a big no.
But she was also a child, and I couldn't just leave her alone.
"Ivy likes you," I said with a smile, "She said you can live with her for as long as you want to."
This made her eyes widen, "Really?"
"Really."
Ivy indeed said that. She was very impressed by Violent, and in a way, I am thankful to her for recording Arrow's actions.
So, providing her a roof over her head is the least I can do for her.
"T-Thank you." She said, a bit embarrassed.
She was adorable, and it instinctively made me ruffle her hair.
"Jasper Hughes!"
But what I expected to be a peaceful walk back home turned out… not so peaceful.
"Violet, dodge!"
Pushing away the girl, I immediately stopped the purple ray that shot towards me.
And once I was able to redirect it – I finally saw the face of the person responsible.
"Carol?!"
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[[A/N: Boom! Jasper and Carol reunion!]]
