Diana knew it was a bit… unseemly of her to accept this fight.
As one of the best-known members of the Justice League, her actions reflected back on the League as a whole, and the modern world did not hold the greatest views on some of the grittier combat sports that had been common in her youth on Themyscira.
There were modern combat sports she quite enjoyed and respected, of course, but there was nothing quite like the arena.
A place where she could simply test herself and fight.
Diana grinned as she twisted aside from a fireball hurled by some purple-robed magician. Her feet slammed against the platform, and a boom cracked through the air as she exploded forward.
The magician's eyes widened.
Diana crossed the platform in an instant.
A crystalline shield snapped into existence between them, but Diana didn't slow. She let out a roar as her fist barreled straight through the barrier, shattering it on impact. The force of the blow carried through into the mage, sending them flying off the platform.
Thankfully, there were failsafes in place. An unseen force whisked the mage away before they could hit the ground.
Not having to constantly hold herself back and simply enjoy the rigors of competition was quite the joy.
Strangely, despite how harsh the battle had become, nobody had managed to seriously injure anyone. Jean Valjean's luck truly was devilish as she simply fought and fought with no fear of injuring the villains.
It was getting rather difficult to keep the grin off her face.
The cheers of excitement booming from all around the floating platform weren't helping.
Diana glanced across the platform. Most of the aspirants who had attacked her were either unconscious, recovering on the ground, or had already been thrown from the arena.
Still, that left only the most dangerous foes.
She spotted Cheetah struggling back to her feet. Giganta was already growing larger again. Sparks danced across Livewire's body as she raised both hands.
Diana couldn't help but laugh.
Raising her fist, she roared. "To the best goes victory!"
Oh, she was never going to hear the end of this from Bruce.
But that was a problem for later.
Diana leaped forward to finish the fight and claim her victory.
—
I couldn't help but hum as I looked over the numbers from the stream.
Turns out getting one of the most famous women in the world to participate in a free-for-all was pretty damn popular.
Hell, even I'd been enraptured watching Wonder Woman absolutely dominate the competition. There had been over a dozen villains in the arena, including plenty of heavy hitters, and she'd taken them all down like a champ.
Honestly, it was just one more reason I really didn't want to fuck with the Justice League.
Somehow, these people went up against gods, aliens, and whatever other bullshit came their way without Fortune on their side.
I had to respect that.
Diana had seemed pretty stoked after the whole thing too, so I was hoping things would turn out okay for me there. After the match, we'd had a quick chat before she flew off to inform the League about everything.
I wished them the best of luck. As much as I wanted to screw over the Light, I had my hands full.
Paying out the promised rewards to all the participants had put a small dent in my wallet, but the goodwill and popularity I'd gotten from the event had made it more than worth it.
Plus, the networking alone had been golden.
Plenty of superpowered people had gotten a lot more interested after I handed out some complimentary healing and cosmetic potions. With a bit of luck, I probably wouldn't be lacking for extra hands in the near future.
Still, there had been one small hiccup.
The last applicant standing against Diana had been Cheetah, and despite technically meeting the criteria, she'd declined the offer to use the Familiar Contract. Apparently, the ten million had been enough for what she wanted.
I'd kind of shot myself in the foot by offering such a big prize, but I was a man of my word. So I left her my card, we parted ways amicably, and that was that.
I steepled my fingers on the desk as I looked over the list of applicants again.
None of them really clicked with me.
I only had one Familiar Contract, and I didn't want to waste it.
Hmm.
I glanced out through the tower windows.
Well… I had been cooped up in here for a while.
Maybe I'd go for a walk.
—
It felt like forever since I'd gone out for a nice, normal outing.
"I still cannot fucking believe you talked her into that," Red Hood chuckled as we strolled near the river.
"Hey, she barged into my office." I shrugged, grinning. "I was only being fair."
"Fair, my ass." He lightly punched my shoulder. "That stream of yours pulled a huge number of views."
"The Goonion is simply beloved by the world." I raised my nose slightly. "What can I say? My heroic deeds enrapture all who hear of them."
"Sureee."
"Is that sarcasm?" I glanced at him. "Against your democratically designated Union leader? That's illegal, you know."
"When the hell did they vote for you?" Red Hood snorted. He looked over at me, and I could practically see the raised eyebrow through his helmet.
"They voted for me with their hearts," I said serenely. "It was the will of the Goons."
Red Hood just stared at me.
I kept a perfectly straight face as I stared back.
After a long moment, we both burst out laughing.
Red Hood shook his head and slung an arm around my shoulders. "You just come out here to spew bullshit, or are you actually gonna do your job, oh great leader?"
"I am working." I shrugged his arm off and walked a few steps ahead. "I'm meeting one of my trusted sources to see if they can find me someone willing to work closely with me."
"Wasn't that the whole point of that interview?"
"Well… there were quite a few people I'd be willing to work with for a while." I frowned. "But nobody really clicked for the position I had in mind. You've been in the scene longer than I have. You recommend anybody?"
Red Hood stopped and brought a hand to his chin, staring out over the Gotham River for a long moment.
"You've already met most of the reputable mercenaries and the few tolerable villains I'd recommend. If I had to add anyone else…" He tilted his head slightly. "Maybe Solomon Grundy or Killer Croc."
"Solomon Grundy's real?" I blinked. I'd seen a lot of shit growing up in Gotham, but that one genuinely caught me off guard. I'd heard the rhyme plenty of times when I was a kid.
"...Unfortunately, yeah." Red Hood gave a dry chuckle. "He's a zombie connected to Slaughter Swamp. It's… complicated. Doesn't really matter if you kill him. The swamp eventually brings him back."
He clicked his tongue.
"It's a crappy situation. His intelligence tends to change with every incarnation, and his strength does too. I know one version of him actually befriended Hawkwoman, but…" He shook his head. "It didn't stick. Next time he came back, he was basically a mindless monster. Last I heard, the League put him down about a year ago."
"That's…" I stared out across the river. "Man… fuck Gotham."
Red Hood snorted. "Preach."
I shook my head. "What about Killer Croc? Not that I'm calling you a liar, but…" I waved a hand vaguely. Even I'd heard the whispers and warnings.
Don't go into the sewers.
"Killer Croc isn't exactly the most reassuring name."
"Waylon got dealt a shit hand." Red Hood's tone lost some of its humor. "He's got a disease that fucks with his body, and it messes with his head too. Despite all that, he tries to do his best." He sighed. "I've run into him from time to time, but I haven't seen him in a few months. Still, the man's got a heart."
"I see." I nodded slowly. "Well, I'll look into it."
My potions would probably be pretty useful for both of them. And the Familiar Space healed my familiars too, so… I wondered what that might do for either of them.
"Don't get your hopes up," Red Hood said. "I wouldn't bet on finding either of them anytime—"
An explosion of water erupted from the river ahead of us.
It was a little too far away to make out clearly, but I could see a huge figure hauling itself out of the Gotham River before quickly taking off.
I slowly turned toward Red Hood.
Red Hood just stared into the distance and let out a sigh. "So that's what it's like."
"About that bet…"
"Oh, fuck off." Red Hood flipped me off as he pulled out his gun and broke into a run.
***
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