Greed God chapter 91

January 31st 2016 Wintermark Castle 6:30 PM EDT

There  are a lot of movies and books that talk about people having an aura or a  presence. They tell you that the impression that something powerful can  leave is sometimes dramatically different than it's appearance. This  was the first time however, that I was experience that in person,  because holy fucking shit, Doctor Gotham was terrifying. Seriously, just  sitting there looking at him was like staring at the shadow of a  fucking megalodon under your boat. It was just a very small hint at  something WAY scarier.

Externally he actually seemed like a  pleasant guy. Calm blue eyes, hair as white as bone pulled back in a  sophisticated ponytail, and smile lines on his weathered face. But just  standing in his fucking presence made me want to fall to my knees and  throw up blood. He seemed to be aware of the impression he was making,  and more than that, to actually enjoy it, but he kept a kind and  welcoming smile on his face as he looked at us. "Well? It's rude to come  into someones home and not introduce yourself. Where exactly are your  manners?"

I shook off the feeling that I was a field mouse  being stared down by a hungry tiger and reasserted my calm. I didn't  get all whimpery and bent out of shape over a bit of menace. I just  needed to take a beat and center myself. I offered him a cocky grin,  fake it til you make it and all that. "My apologies, I'm Nicholas Lord,  and these two charming ladies are my companions, Zee and Cherry. Sorry  to disturb you. We were looking for a place to...entertain each other.  Didn't mean to interrupt your model building or whatever."

When  in doubt, be a himbo, seemed to work great for Bruce Wayne. Doctor  Gotham raised an eyebrow. "No. You're here trying to destroy the model  of the city I'm using to anchor my augmentation spell. I'm old boy, not  senile. Nicholas you say." He trailed off, squinting at me suspiciously.  "You seem familiar? Do I know you?" He waved off my answer. "No, I've  been asleep for forty millennia and you're a child. Still, there's  something about you I recognize."

He narrowed his eyes and  I had to fight down a swallow. I really hoped he didn't recognize the  Greed System. Though now I knew why Crassus hadn't mentioned hearing  about this guy. Forty thousand years? Christ. I needed to appraise him,  even if it might be a bit risky I had to find out what I was dealing  with. Fingers crossed the Greed System wasn't what he noticed about me  and he'd just met another Lifestorm Wyrm or something. With a silent  prayer to any listening gods and whichever ones had an answering  service, I went ahead and triggered appraisal.

[Appraisal  function activated. Treasure detected. The Sun King- A ranked warlock  monarch. A primordial sorcerer who has lived for nearly half a  decemillenium, the Sun King was a peer of the fae monarchs at a time  when faerie intersected heavily with earth. An ambitious man with  aspirations to build a kingdom of his own to rival the lands of the fae,  the Sun King began the process of perfecting a ritual to dramtically  increase the mystical density in the area. The ritual was understandably  unpopular with his subjects given the number of horrible human  experiments needed to refine the process so they overthrew him and  locked him up under what would one day become Gotham City. In case it  wasn't clear, you should run.]

I swallowed. Hard.  A rank. That was...a lot. I absolutely could not stop this guy from  doing anything. This was a fucking sorcerer on par with a kryptonian in  terms of power. Supergirl had been A rank, but she was a fucking  teenager, not fifty thousand fucking years old. Now I was standing here  planning to ruin the ambition of a magic user that made every other  being I'd run into look like a fucking chump. I was pretty much down to  groveling or getting the fuck out of dodge as my options. But to my  surprise, I didn't get smote or anything, Doctor Gotham just flicked a  finger and chairs appeared behind us, knocking our knees out and  plopping us on our asses.

He chuckled at our expressions  (my absolute bodily control was just as useful for a poker face in this  instance as it was for not pissing myself). "Oh calm down children. If I  wanted you dead I could have erased you from existence before you even  noticed my presence. No, I'm not at all inclined to snuff out such  bright talents. A king needs subjects after all, and I'm certain you'll  be ambitious and dedicated servants to the crown once I've taken control  of the city. I'd love to hear your takes on my plans, assuming you know  them. Your attempt on my focus implies an understanding of my goals."

I  blinked as a saucer and teacup appeared in my hands, which were now in  the proper position to hold them. A silver platter of finger sandwiches  also blinked into existence at about chest height, floating in the air  for us to choose from. I selected a cucumber and cream cheese sandwich,  taking a bit and enjoying the refreshments after appraising them to make  sure they weren't poisoned or laced with mind control potion or  something. They weren't presumably because Doctor Gotham didn't actually  need to do any of that.

I chewed slowly, thinking over  what to say. "So, not to be a buzz kill, because I genuinely don't care  that much, but do you have any security measures in place to stop the  monsters and new magic users from killing off all the locals? Could be  hard to run a kingdom without any subjects." I actually didn't care that  much, I was pretty sure I'd be getting the fuck out of this city as  soon as I could get home and pack up my girls. Still, he seemed excited  to talk about it so I figured I'd humor him.

His  pleased grin made it clear I'd made the right call. Apparently being  literally older than dirt didn't mean you stopped loving to hear  yourself talk. "Oh, not at all my boy. My kingdom only requires the few  and elite. Brave souls such as yourself and your women are more than  welcome within my borders. The creatures of magic born again when the  power floods this land will simply be a form of...trial. I have full  faith you'll rise to the occasion, and any of your women along with you.  Anyone who does not is simply not someone I have a use for."

Wow.  That was actually pretty cold blooded. I kind of liked his style  actually, but considering how many ridiculously hot women would probably  die I felt like it was a bit of a waste. Though I could always open up  the palace as a shelter, only hot girls need apply...no, not getting  sucked into this magic kingdom bullshit. Safer to just bail as soon as I  got home. I could find hot girls anywhere, but Gotham and Metropolis  were probably going to be absolute anarchy for a while, best to let  other forces handle this.

Honestly  I regretted even coming here at this point. At first I'd assumed the  world would be ending, and then I just wanted to stake my claim on the  city, but if I'd known how fucking powerful this asshole really was I'd  have bailed sooner. This seemed...unlike me. I'd check with Crassus  later, but this seemed distinctly similar to the dumb shit I'd pulled  with Donna. I had a feeling the Greed System was interfering with my  decision making again and I wanted to know why and how the fuck to stop  it.

Regardless,  now was not the time. We needed to get the fuck out of here, and  hopefully away from the party unscathed. I was curious about one thing  though. "So I have to ask though, why the party? I figure based on what  you said its not some kind of mass sacrifice, which is great  because...you know, I don't want to be sacrificed. But why invite all  these people here? Just want to have them around to witness the birth of  a new age?" I was hoping that was the reason, because I was getting  some pretty alarming vibes know that I'd met this guy. Doctor Gotham was  the go big or go home type.

He  just chuckled again, but this time the sound had a cold edge to it.  "Why, if I told you that it would spoil the surprise my boy. Run along  back to the part now children. Enjoy yourselves, dance, drink, be merry.  The main event will happen soon enough. Don't worry too much about the  entertainment. I can assure you. This is going to be a night that no one  in Gotham will ever forget."

He  flicked his fingers lazily and the tea, sandwiches, library and model  all vanished. I thought he dropped us into an abyss or something for a  second until I realized we were just standing in the dark hallway. I  turned to the girls. "So...that was really fucking ominous right?  Because the sounded really ominous to me. Like, I might be reading too  much into this, but it kind of sounds like some really terrible shit is  about to go down here." I turned to Zee. "Listen, I know it's not your  thing, but I really think we need to get out of here. I-"

She  held up a hand. "No. I get it, and I agree. I should have called in  Doctor Fate when I heard from Sargon, but I was too stubborn. I felt  that guys power though, and it isn't anything I can even touch. We get  out of here and regroup, call in reinforcements. Maybe the Shadowpact or  someone similar. Just anyone we can find. This is out of my league  solo." I was pretty relieved she was at least sane. Zee was a great fuck  and fun to hang with, but I would absolutely have bailed without her. I  hadn't marked her yet, and me and my girls were priority one.

I  started back the way we came. "Then we get back to the party and get  the hell out of here first thing. We can worry about everything else  later." By which I meant never because I wasn't ever coming back within  sight of that fucking monster again. At least until I'd reached the same  level as he was, or maybe higher. It was easy enough to find our way  back to the entry hall given my perfect memory, and we slipped through  the door without being noticed, rejoining the crowd as I scanned for  Barbie and my guards.

It  only took a few minutes to find them in the throng, and I grabbed my  redhead as soon as I was within range, pulling her away from a  discussion she was having with a business magnate I was ninety percent  sure she was somehow stealing information from. Probably mirroring his  phone or something. Regardless, I made polite noises and got her away  fast. I leaned down to whisper in her ear. "This party is most likely  some kind of trap, we need to fucking leave right now. No argument."

I  was worried she might fight me on this, Gotham was her home, and Barbie  had that annoying noble streak, so I was ready to push on the Brand and  force her to comply, regardless of her own reaction, but I never got  the chance. The lights in the room all snuffed out with no warning, and a  single spotlight of golden illumination shone down, highlighting Ivan  Drench. "Apologies for the interruption ladies and gentlemen. But  tonight's main event is commencing. I assure you, the disruption will be  worth your time. Tonight's entertainment will be...to die for."