The Greedy Frog
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DC: A Spatial Manipulator Chapter 17
🕑 Added 2023-03-22 03:02:00 +0000 UTCChapter 17: The Talk (2/3)
[Bruce Wayne]
Fury. That's what I felt when he insulted the League. Insults were something I was used to, I didn't mind them. But it was not something I was going to endure when targeted at the team I spent my blood and sweat to put together.
"The League has saved more lives than you, Blake." I said with an impassive face. "You do not have the right to comment on that." Showing your temper gives the opponent the upper hand, which is not something I prefer doing.
He chuckled… A chuckle that I was very familiar with.
"You think so?" His smile vanished just as quickly as it appeared. "Tell me, Bruce. What is the difference between you and me?" He asked.
I knew what he meant. I was no fool. The man sitting in front of me was a villain. He was someone expected to be evil; I wasn't.
He laughed.
"That's right… I am a villain and you are a hero. We are polar opposites." He said, playing with the cup in his hand. "As a hero, you were expected to stop the villains. You were expected to make Gotham a better place… but you failed, Bruce… you failed." He sighed.
"Do you know the villains that were active seven years ago?" He asked, making me raise an eyebrow. "Seven years ago. That was the time when neither the Justice League, Titans or the Young Justice existed. Even most of the heroes that are active now weren't present back then. So tell me, Bruce… Who were the villains that were infamous at that time in Gotham."
I knew his reason for asking the question very well but I answered just like he wanted. "Penguin, Killer Croc, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Catwoman, You, Ra's and… Joker."
He stopped playing with the cup and Looked up. "Penguin, a guy consumed by greed. He's never been a person that could be trusted. He killed his boss to take control of the organization, he killed his friends to gain riches. He is a villain through and through. But he is a businessman before a villain."
He looked at me. "Which businessman does not commit crimes these days? If you look well enough, you will find many billionaires that are worse than him. But then why did he become so infamous as a Crimelord? What made him different from the rest of the villains?" He frowned. "It was because of the time and age." He answered.
"In just seven years, many massive corporations have sprouted. The economy of the country has increased beyond imagination. If one would have said that we would get so many millionaires and billionaires in seven years, no one would have believed it. But now it's reality. The only reason Penguin became so infamous was because there was no one else who could be a target. He was the sole billionaire." He paused. "Other than you, of course… but you two were the only ones. His sudden fame and wealth made people suspicious and even the police started to investigate, making his crimes easily visible. No matter how much money you have, if the entire world decides to play detective, you cannot hide the truth."
He groaned. "But now that there are countless rich people, who will the police look at? It's nigh impossible to check everyone's background. And since there are so many of them now. They form their associations to hide the truth… They control the political system." He sounded unhappy.
"Simply put… Penguin was unlucky that he was one of the first billionaires. Some might argue that it was a good thing… it gave him a headstart. But that was the farthest from the truth. All it did was bring him trouble."
He was not wrong. Penguin was someone that could be considered one of the normal ones if compared with the other villains. But he was still a villain. A person who killed and robbed.
He smiled. "Then there is Killer Croc, my friend."
Croc was one of the most feared villains a few years ago. We had clashed in the past and his strength was undeniable. But he has been far calmer than before. The one who used to be a psychopathic killer was now a calm man.
But again… he had killed many. He was a villain and his crimes were not something that could be ignored. Many people lost their lives because of the reptilian villain… even if he did all of that because of trauma.
"You know exactly why he became a villain, right Bruce?" He asked but I didn't answer.
I knew Croc's past. He was a traumatized person but that didn't mean I could forgive him for all the atrocities he committed. (E/N: Could've helped the guy, not lock him up and make it worse.)
"People are bullied for being handicapped, for being different. They are marginalized by the norms of society. They are cast out."
That was society. Something that couldn't be changed in mere years. They had grown into such a system after centuries of evolution. But that evolution came from the wrong side.
It was sad… no, it was tragic. But it was not something we could change in a few years. Still, that doesn't mean we are not trying… we are. But a single person cannot change a million. It will take time for us to make a visible difference. (E/N: lies. A single person can.)
"Society will not change, Bruce." Blake said with disappointment. "They won't change with only a few people. A single person can make a difference, but greed can make even more. Humans are sinful creatures, that's a universal truth. It's our nature to be greedy, envious, and even prideful. We think that we have evolved so much that other species are nothing compared to us. We call ourselves the 'superior race,' but has this statement ever been beneficial?"
I was quiet. Blake's mentality was different from mine but it was not entirely wrong.
"We discriminate against our people for being different… for being handicapped, for being poor, for being illiterate. But have we ever done anything to make a difference? No, we haven't!" He nearly yelled.
"Croc was not born a villain. He was turned into a villain by this society, by us humans. Why did that happen? Because we didn't accept him into our society, just because he was born different." He laughed. "Society has never done anything good for us, Bruce. And the humans being the stupidest creatures… do their best to please such a society. Harming themselves and the people around them in the process."
He paused. "But I am going off-topic here. The point is that Croc was not born a villain, he was made into one."
'Made a villain.' An interesting concept, but an equally flawed one. We always have two choices, one of the choices might seem impossible to make at times but we still have them. Croc was no exception. He could have chosen to walk the path of light instead of the darkness. It was going to be painful, but he could have made a bigger difference.
I had two choices… and I made a choice.
"Then comes Two-Face. A person who was betrayed by someone that he trusted. He turned into a psychopath because of that. But he is different from the previous two. He is an unstable person who should not be left alone." He looked at me. "So where is he, Bruce? Why is a person like Two-Face running around freely?"
"He escaped," I said bitterly. It was my fault that I gave the police department authority to imprison him.
Blake's face was emotionless but there was contempt in his eyes.
"He is not someone that should have been freed." He shook his head. "He is too dangerous to be kept alive."
"I don't kill."
"I know you don't." He replied instantly. "That has always been your weakness. Sometimes… there are some people that should not be kept alive. Morals and ethics do not save lives when the other party doesn't believe in them. To protect people, you need to forget such morals."
"A person's life without morals and ethics is pointless. Ethics keep a person from choosing the wrong path, and without ethics, there would be more villains than now." I said, making him sigh.
"Bruce. Tell me… did those ethics stop Ra's? Did those ethics stop Joker?" He frowned. "No, they didn't."
"That's what makes a hero different from a villain. A good person different from an evil one." I said.
If everyone abandoned their morals, there would only be blood and chaos.
"That is true." There was a pained smile on his face. "But did those morals help you to stop Joker from going on those killing sprees? From torturing the innocents." He shook his head. "No, it didn't."
"Years ago the two of us made a great mistake… the mistake of leaving the Joker alive. But I am not going to repeat that mistake again, Bruce. If I find him, I will kill him. That is a promise."
"Then I will have to stop you." I said as calmly as possible. "Killing is not something I can accept. Joker will be punished but if you kill him." A frown appeared on my face. "I will hunt you down."
He didn't falter and instead, he put on a smile.
"Both of us know exactly why you adopted this 'No Killing Rule'."
This statement made me widen my eyes, while the next one made me flinch.
"Joe Chill."
