“But that’s just for now. We still don’t know what Falcone has pnned for the League of Shadow Dancers. It could be a biological bomb meant to take all of Gotham down with him.”

  Cindy raised her bottle, clinking it against his, sighing heavily. If he had captured Gordon for Batman’s sake, it was likely because he pnned to wipe out everyone—including himself—along with the city.

  Ten years ago, Gotham had been his city. Ten years ter, it was a pyground for the insane. Falcone had every reason to go mad. He’d spent decades carefully building up his crime empire, turning the city into a den of darkness—and now it was all gone.

  He was old now. He didn’t have the decades left to rebuild that empire, so before he died, he was taking Gotham with him. It made perfect sense if you thought like a madman.

  As for why he dragged in the League of Assassins? Well, Ra’s al Ghul saw Gotham as the source of all sin, and the League had always wanted to destroy it—only Batman had been in their way.

  Now Batman was gone, and Falcone and Ra’s had their chance. But Gotham only had one city to burn—who would do the honors?

  Despite sharing the same goal, their methods were completely different. One was a mafia kingpin, the other a master ninja. They weren’t exactly aligned.

  It was no surprise their paths were about to cross.

  Of course, there was no solid evidence to support this theory. Cindy didn’t voice it aloud, but it was one possibility swimming around in her mind.

  “We can’t move before the ninjas do. So the only choice is to stake out the area. Once the ninjas go in, we follow. That way, whatever happens, we’ll be ready.”

  Su Ming gave a wry smile as he clinked his gss with hers. This wasn’t exactly a pn—it was more like hoping for the best.

  “Hopefully, Talia is leading the League. She’s the only one who still has some sanity. Otherwise, even if we deal with Falcone, we’ll end up fighting the League too.”

  Cindy gulped down several swigs, the golden liquid trailing down her snow-white neck. Satisfied, she wiped her mouth and tossed the bottle aside, voicing her own concern.

  Su Ming had the same thought. If those ninjas had orders to eliminate all living beings, they wouldn’t hesitate to wipe out even the homeless on Indian Hill, let alone Gordon.

  But who could predict the future? All they could do was take it one step at a time. Even if Talia did show up, changing her mind would require a fight—and for that, you had to prove your strength.

  In the League, a duel with the leader wasn’t just a formality. It was how you earned respect. It was the only way to change their orders. Without it, the only thing waiting for you was endless assassination attempts.

  If they were facing that many assassins, they’d need someone to protect their tech expert.

  “Sure would be nice if we had a few reliable allies. Any of your mercenary friends in Gotham?” Su Ming asked her.

  “Ha, mercenaries don’t have friends. It’s all business.”

  Cindy scoffed, clearly not remembering any reliable contacts she had in this city. She’d stab someone in the back for the right price, and they’d do the same to her.

  Su Ming gave her an exasperated look. This woman...

  “You’ve burned bridges with all your business partners. No wonder your business is shrinking. Don’t you ever think about casting a wider net for bigger opportunities?”

  “That depends on the fish. Even if they catch one, it’s an octopus. I don’t eat that,” Cindy replied with a deadpan expression. What was done was done, and nothing could change it.

  Sigh... “Anyway, have you heard of a new mercenary in Gotham? Codename ‘Silence,’ a bck woman, a combat expert, weapons master, and demolition specialist?”

  Su Ming gave up trying to argue with her. Everyone had their way of doing things. Maybe Cindy preferred her style of business, while he liked to live a more carefree life. He wasn’t about to interfere.

  Instead, Su Ming thought back to a character he’d read about in the comics—a new mercenary with the codename Silence. She was a bck woman, a specialist in assault tactics, an expert with firearms, and skilled in explosives.

  The key was that, like Deathstroke, she valued contracts. As long as the payment was good, she wouldn’t back out of a mission.

  Cindy thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Either you’re talking about someone who doesn’t exist, or she’s too obscure. I don’t know how things are where you come from, but here on this Earth, when you talk about mercenaries, people think of me first. Right, Barbara?”

  Barbara, who had been sitting in her wheelchair, was lost in the conversation, not fully understanding the ‘our side, your side’ talk or what ‘this Earth’ meant. Hearing her name snapped her out of her daze, and she stared at Cindy, a bit confused.

  But Cindy took her silence as agreement and puffed out her chest proudly toward Su Ming.

  “Miss Shiva,” Su Ming didn’t mind her pyful jab and just turned to avoid it, saying the name.

  At the mention of Shiva, Cindy defted a little. Shiva was universally recognized as the world’s greatest assassin. She hadn’t always gone by that name—it was inspired by an Indian goddess—but her combat skills were so divine that people compared her to a goddess.

  Su Ming had read the official DC tabletop RPG rules. Batman and Bronze Tiger were rated 14 in combat skills, Deathstroke was a 15, and Shiva was a 16.

  In the RPG, a 16 rating was described as “cosmic-level combat ability.”

  For a mortal to reach cosmic-level mastery in combat? That was beyond impressive. Even if it was just a game, it reflected something real about her.

  “She’s an assassin, we’re killers. Different things...” Cindy muttered, but her eyes shifted away, guilt in her posture.

  She was right about some of it—Deathstroke’s killings were always loud and chaotic, using guns and heavy weapons. Shiva, on the other hand, was a stealth killer. With a single touch or strike, she could take someone out, silently.

  “In the shadows of this world, there are people who are as strong as or even stronger than Shiva. Take the Aikido master Sa’ar, Shiva’s teacher, the father of the Twelve Brothers in Silk, Master Huang, the old Japanese guy called ‘Sensei.’ There might even be others I don’t know about.”

  Su Ming sighed again. The world of comics was a tangled web, and his current strength was probably on par with Deathstroke, but that wasn’t enough to rely on.

  And these were just martial arts masters. He hadn’t even started to factor in the metahumans yet.

  He needed to find a way to grow stronger, but just being good with a gun or in hand-to-hand combat wasn’t going to cut it.

  Cindy, too, was a little disturbed. She’d never heard of most of these people. She didn’t want them to exist in her world.

  But the truth was, they all existed—supervilins in a dark multiverse, inevitable and ever-present.

  “Alright, enough talk. These people are mostly based in Asia. Just be careful if you head that way. For now, we’ve got other matters to focus on.”

  Su Ming snapped out of his reverie, refocusing on their immediate task. He had a clear goal now. Maybe he wasn’t ready to face those people yet, but one day, he would be.

  Strong opponents only served to fuel his determination, not crush it.

  “True. We’ve got time before the League of Shadow Dancers arrives. We should take the time to power up, prepare for the battles ahead,” Cindy agreed, her thoughts also turning to how she could grow stronger.

  Once, there was only one Shiva. Now there were a whole network of deadly fighters hiding in the shadows. Cindy wouldn’t stand for it. She’d make sure that if she survived this, she’d find a quiet pce to train, perfect her own martial skills.

  Though, of course, guns would still find work for her if needed.

  With no reliable help in sight, it was time for food. This was going to be a long night.

  Cindy walked off, probably heading to raid Wayne Manor, while Su Ming turned his attention to the thoughtful Barbara, speaking softly to her.

  “Use the system to check on the whereabouts of Bruce Wayne and his butler, Alfred.”

  Barbara instantly grew wary. A mercenary asking about Gotham’s most famous billionaire? That couldn’t be good.

  “What are you pnning?”

  “Nothing. Just thinking about expanding my client base. You heard Cindy, business has been rough for her tely.”

  “You’re definitely up to no good. I won’t help you,” Barbara replied, turning her wheelchair and rolling away.

  Su Ming chuckled softly. Just like her father, she had the same stubbornness. Even as she wheeled away, her system was still active, her ptop still plugged in.

  Like Gordon, she’d pretend not to see it, like it didn’t exist.

  She was beginning to understand the darkness, and maybe, just maybe, she’d learn to embrace the power hidden within it.