On the outskirts of Bludhaven, Oswald Cobblepot's vintage grey 1958 Rolls-Royce pulls up in front of the Botanical Gardens of Palisades. Cobblepot, dubbed the Penguin due to his avian appearance and icy attitude, looks sadly at the once beautiful Botanical Garden of the building. Despite its chipped glass marble and wall ceilings, the place has a classical look, an art-deco look, a statue corridor, Aviary, and a beautiful Glasshouse entrance.
The driver opens the door, and Cobblepot slides out of the back seat with a baguette under his arm. He's dressed in a long gray coat, a three-piece suit with a black tie, Italian leather dress shoes, and a black bowler. He's not alone, as the Kabui twins accompany him.
Peri and Gale Kabui, The Penguin's bodyguards/ assassins, are highly skilled martial arts combatants, and when they're fighting, they carry a Japanese sword. The twins are tall, sleek girls. They disguise themselves as geisha girls and dress in red kimonos and a black Chinese hairstyle. They also wear identical masks, yellow eyes, black eyebrows, red cheeks, and red lips.
Cobblepot climbed up the steps and greeted his bodyguard.
"Good day, Lad."
"Evening Mr. Cobblepot."
Cobblepot nods at the man and lets himself in. Trailed by the twins, Cobblepot entered the budling and admired the soaring countryside view from the windows. He proceeded down the long corridor, a maze of tents and tarps affixed to the columns. Cobblepot goes to the giant red doors leading to the Botanical Glasshouse. The twins stayed behind and guarded the entrance as Cobblepot entered the room. Once inside, he passed a large marble stone pond fountain that adds tranquility and relaxing sound while the plume of water provides an eye-catching centerpiece to the Gardens.
He sits on a bench, sits the baguette and wine bottle beside him, and removes his hat. Before he pops the top, he sits back and enjoys the soothing sound of the stream in the giant fountain. He took a moment to reflect on past events and strategies moving forward. The criminal world is like playing chess, and Cobblepot wants to master it.
The Kabuki Twins keep guard at the doors, and everything is quiet and serene. Or is it? Peri catches a glimpse of a silhouette shadow moving towards them, alerting them. They draw their Japanese swords in a defensive stance, moving two steps forward, waiting, and hearing Nightwing's boots' rubber soles crushing on the broken marble floor. When Nightwing steps out of the shadows, Eskrima sticks in hand, and the rings around them glow blue. His unkempt hair hangs above his forehead as Nightwing's eyes stare out of the mask at the twins.
He abruptly stopped and said, "Heard there was a twin party going on. So, I brought mine," Dick gestured to his Eskrima sticks, got no response, but it was expected. Nightwing knew the Kabuki Twins took a vow of silence years ago. "I'm here for your boss. I want to talk, is all."
The Kabuki Twins remind silent in their defensive stance, ready to strike.
Nightwing grips the Eskrima sticks. The rings glow from red to blue, indicating there fully charged and with a sheepish smile Nightwing said, "The Two-step it is!"
Peri lunges first, followed by Gale. Nightwing parries with his weapons and sparks, striking off the unbreakable polymer sticks. He dodges, weaves the swords, and eventually, Gales slices Nightwing's torso piercing him with her weapon. The strike doesn't affect the suit, as the Kevlar body armor protects him from such weapons. Peri swings with her sword. Nightwing traps it in his scallop and twists her arm, spinning the blade away. Swordless, Nightwing lands a 540 kick from Taekwondo, and the executed kick sends Peri stumbling back.
Gale thrusts her sword at Nightwing's chest, and he dodges left, dangerously close to the edge. Nightwing ducks at Gale, who knees her sideways, swinging Nightwing at the front edge of the train. Nightwing regains footing, and Gale strikes down at his head. Nightwing crosses the sticks, catching the sword in the middle of both weapons, holding fast. Nightwing yanks his arms in opposite directions, breaking Gale's sword in two. She stumbles back and loses her footing. Nightwing quickly delivers a flying knee to her face shattering her mask and taking her out.
Call it intuition, but Nightwing sensed Peri rushing at him. He spun throws a wing-Ding boomerang, and it released a set of connected bola cords wrapped around Peri, taking her down. Nightwing is the last one standing and doesn't waste more time proceeding forward.
Cobblepot, unaware of the commotion, is suddenly uneasy, sets his paper down, and jumps up. He shouts out to the twins. "Peri! Gale! Are you two bloody there?"
Listening, he gets no answer and moves back to the bench. Cobblepot's hands begin to get sweaty, and his heart is pounding. He turned to see Nightwing with a satisfied smile.
"Oh, it's you. The pretty boy, Wingnut, Nightwing, something like that," said Cobblepot.
Nightwing stepped out of the shadows; eyes peered on Cobblepot.
"Penguin. I see you haven't upgraded your security."
Cobblepot sits on the bench, relaxes his body, and takes a bit of his bread.
"I agree it's utterly shit… good help is hard to find. That's what I get for hiring lapdogs to do my work. But then again, after tonight, they'll be lucky if they stay on the payroll. Well, I need someone to clean out the pisser," he laughed heartily. "Well, old chap, you didn't drive out here for nothing. Get on with it!"
Not amused by Cobblepot's humor, Nightwing proceeded with his humorous personality.
"I'm here for information. A shipment of German-made G36 rifles was stolen from a Berlin plant in Berlin a few weeks back. I want to know the buyers and whom they were distributed to."
"So, I'm your informant now, huh? Your patsy."
Nightwing kept his demeanor cooler than an Autumn breeze. "I'm not here for your condescending remarks Penguin! My patience is thin, and I will only ask once again… I need a name!"
"Alright, just having a little fun with you, is all. I would expect the brooding from the Bat but not from you… I'll do you a solid since you took out my rival, Sionis. I received intel that a weapon shipment was sold on the black market in our backyard. They were held and sold in purgatory, lost and found. Purgatory containers get re-routed therein until they are found, and here's what's exquisite. The containers don't get raided or go through customs."
"Which shipping cargo containers did they arrive in?" asked Nightwing.
"All I know is they were shipped here on a container ship called Scipio, and it's a mammoth of a container ship. Anyway, it's one of the biggest black-market contributors this side of the Atlantic-" he paused, then remembered a critical tidbit, "I almost forgot. There's a middleman, a scout or courier known as the tailor. I don't know his real name or where to find him."
"You have all this information, so why not go after him yourself?" asked Nightwing.
"Oh, I tried. I had a pawn setup for the bloody bastard and the perfect setup for the tailor—enough cash in an account, an impressive clientele, and you name it, the works. The tailor contacted my man a few times. Even set up a few meets, but he never showed. He would always send another wanker to do his dirty bidding. It was like he knew the pawn was an imposter. Anyway, after the last two times of sweating the pot on some deals, the tailor, shall we say as the kids say these days, Ghosted. We attempted to trace the number. But we got nothing, and the tailor is a slick one, completely off the grid. Squatting, I believe. As I told you before, he moves suddenly and often doesn't stay in one place exceptionally long. Notorious cautious."
"Hard to believe someone of your resources has a hard time keeping tracking of a courier," said Nightwing.
"The same can be said about you," he reaches into his jacket pocket with Nightwing overseeing him and pulls out a small package the size of the match. "Did I mention he dabbles his drugs? We're talking about some trippy shit named Hendrix. Unfortunately, my pawn learned the hard way and got hold of some bad stuff. He was hallucinating his balls off. He's not the first, the word on the street is it affects people differently, and if you find a package with the golden rings, you get an unlimited supply. Can you believe that? Freaking sweepstakes. Anyway, I figure this type of thing is your EMO. World's greatest detective and all."
Nightwing studied the small package; it had a hex bag logo with a King's crown stamped. He flipped it over and opened the inside with no sign of the golden ring. Nightwing reached into his belt for a U.V. blacklight the size of a small flashlight. He opened the package, and the purple light illuminated it. Three rings appear on the paper within seconds, and Nightwing immediately recognizes them as the three Olympic rings.
He puts away the U.V. light and places the package into a compartment on the utility belt.
"I'll check it out. But Ozzy-"
"I know, I know-" said Cobblepot, half-heartedly. "I get it, lousy lug. You'll have my hide throw me in the slammer." He shrugged, then hand gestures to him to shoo away.
Just as Penguin is about to take another sip of his wine, he hears his men's voices from behind and draws closer.
"Mr. Cobblepot, Mr. Cobblepot!" his bodyguards shouted; guns were drawn as they panted for air. "Are you okay, sir?
Cobblepots shifts on the bench and turns to his bodyguards. "Yes, I'm alright," said Cobblepot as he turned back to Nightwing, and like his mentor, his gone. Cobblepot shook his head and returned to his bodyguards with a distinctive disappointing look. "With bodyguards like you who need enemies."
"You want us to go after him, sir?" asked one of the bodyguards.
"No, he's long gone from here now. Now run along, you bloody blokes. Let me be."
Nightwing made his way out of the woods to his Night cycle, and a black Lito Sora Electric Superbike was parked on the edge of the Garden's property. But this isn't any ordinary Electric Bike; equipped with a Wayne Tech EXP engine, advanced technology, a headlight fairing shaped like a bat's head, and an extended rear swingarm.
Nightwing hopped onto the Bike, placed on his helmet, fired up the bike, and rode away from the Gardens, where it was swallowed up in the elm and spruce trees. Now on the highway, reeling thoughts enter Nightwing's mind, an incoming call from Law comes through, and he presses a button on his motorcycle helmet that activates his earbud.
"Dick, I take it you'll be running late for tonight's festivities?"
"I'm headed there now!"
"Then I take it your visit with The Penguin was a success?"
"It was informative. The Penguin informed me about a container ship name 12 Labors. It's how the G36 German-made rifles arrive in Gotham."
"And whom does the container ship belong to?"
"Penguin doesn't know. But everything is connected, the Olympic rings on the drug packages and the container ship named after Hercules hence the name 12 Labors."
" Wait, where have I heard that before? Oh, wait, I know. Hercules is labeled as the greatest general in Greek history," said Law.
"-Mmm, and only one person in Bludhaven obsessed with Greek mythology… Maximilian Zeus. CEO of Trident Intercontinental Shipping who moonlights as a handler for smuggled goods for the criminal underworld."
"You are bright despite what people may say about you."
Nightwing just smiled. He kept his eyes on the road and remembered the night's endeavors at the Circus, and Law knew the silence too well. He could hear the wheels turning in Grayson's head.
Dick had a plus one and couldn't think of anyone to be his plus one. From there, he contemplated the following women:
. Zatanna left town a few months back and is Rome the last he checked.
. Shawn Tsang, but she left him after catching Grayson in an intimate moment with Huntress.
. Bridget Clancy, true, it was just a brief romance, and she was Dick's former building superintendent at the old apartment. But it was never anything serious, even though they had a couple of dates together.
.
Then it dawned on him. He ends communication with Law, uses voice command, and calls Oracle, not only his long-time friend but the one that got away.
Oracle answered on the third ring, "Dick. Is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine, Babs. I'm calling on a certain matter."
"Let me guess another favor?"
"Trust me; you will want to hear me out on this one."
"You're like the good-looking guy in high school who knows how cute he is and won't take no for an answer. Now, what's this matter that's so urgent, Grayson."
"It's about a family matter… Tell me, Babs. Do you like the Circus?"