Justice League And The Hounds Of Hell

Chapter 5: Penguin is not the Man

I was going to get Cobblepot for good at the benefit, I was sure of it. After school I took a nap to catch up on sleep while Alfred agreed to help me get through math homework. When I woke up my clothes were already set out for me. I changed and arrived at the event holding onto my father's arm. Plates were going around holding expensive small appetizers and shots as everyone mingled before they were seated. The event was for the purpose of benefiting clean energy projects in Gotham. When it began we sat at our assigned tables and ordered our dinner plates, which added up to be about $500 each, and listened to different elites of the society speak on the matter. Bruce stood and spoke of how all buildings related to Wayne Enterprises were in the process of transitioning into running on clean renewable energy. We were estimated to be cutting waste by over 60% within the next year. It was a costly up front investment, but he knew that he would get it all back in double down the line and encouraged all other business mongers to follow his example. Our company was also going to expand to help renovate renewable energy, as well as invest in agriculture so that Gotham could have access to all natural food sources.  His speech was met with much approval. 

I had no idea the company was moving in such directions and I was quite impressed. I almost forgot that I was upset with him for putting me on the sidelines last night. 

After all the speakers said their quip, and everyone else who wanted to chime in had spoken, they welcomed their honorary guest while dessert was passed around. Wonder Woman came forward and spoke on the importance of protecting Mother Earth. She was one of the few members of the Justice League who didn't lead a double life. When the dancing started she approached us with a knowing smile. Her and Bruce talked as if they didn't fight crime together and hadn't seen each other in the Watch Tower last week. They went to the dance floor together and waltzed to the music, I went after Cobblepot, passing by Tim and his father. They grinned at me and I offered a polite, proper greeting before moving on to the table of fresh fruit.

Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot approached with true disdain in his eyes, as I knew he would.

"Miss Krystal Wayne, that was quite the inspiring speech your father had."

"I know. I had no idea." I munched on a strawberry with smile.

He hated everything about my family name, which was quite ironic cause he had no idea that the two sources of his most intense hate were actually the same people. He hated the Batfamily because we were "bad for business" and he hated the Waynes for entirely different reasons. The Cobblepot fortune went back many more generations than Wayne money did. My family built their fortune in realstate and construction when they immigrated to America in the early 19th century and rose alongside Carnegie and Rockefeller. The Cobblepots were elites in Europe, and it seemed it would stay that way. But, when Bruce was an infant they declared bankruptcy, Thomas and Martha, my grandparents, saw an opportunity and bought them out. It saved the Cobblepots from certain ruin, they could have nice upper middle-class lives, and it expanded our enterprises to an international level. Oswald came to America to build a new fortune and he resented us for it. He felt that everything we gained in Europe should be his, and he hated that he would never get to see that money.

"It must be nice."

I shrugged. "Business is business, surely you understand that."

He watched my father twirl Diana on the dance floor. "Would your father oppose if I shared a dance with you?"

"His oppositions have never stopped me." I laughed. Inside, my stomach twisted. The last thing I wanted was to stand any closer to him than I was now. "Although, you do know these people can be such gossips."

He took my arm with a wicked grin and lead me to the dancefloor. "As if it would be a disgrace to be seen with a Cobblepot."

He placed a hand on my waist and I laid mine on his shoulder. We moved in a basic three step to the music. He wanted to lead the dance, but he was clumsy and nearly stepped on me on every third step. All of my stretching gave me the flexibility to dodge and follow with minimal damage to my feet and knees. From the corner of my eye, I caught Tim watching us with the most comically baffled expression.