Chapter 75: Iceberg Lounge (4)

[Third Person's PoV] 

Klemper slowly lowered his arms, the air around him shimmering faintly from the residual energy of his spectral powers. He stood frozen in place, eyes distant, contemplative—clearly torn by the conflict raging inside him. His form trembled slightly as the wind toyed with his long nightcap, fluttering in the air. 

His brows furrowed and his jaw tightened. After a moment of inner struggle, he took a step back, then another, retreating.

"I'm sorry," Klemper finally said, voice steady but his glowing eyes fierce. "But I won't turn my back on my friend." He clenched his fists, and a visible wave of frosty energy rippled through his arm. "Not on Mr. Penguin."

Danny ran a hand through his hair, his expression one of pure frustration. "How many times do I have to tell you—?"

"I haven't forgotten!" Klemper snapped, cutting him off. His voice cracked, filled with emotion. "You hurt my friend! You attacked him! You expect me to just forget that?"

His fist tightened, and a swirling sphere of condensed cold energy began forming within his hand, crackling with ghostly frost. Ice particles floated in the air around him. "Mr. Penguin is my friend… until he says otherwise. You can't change my mind!"

"Wait, wait—just stop!" Danny said quickly, raising both hands in a calming gesture as he floated backward to maintain distance. "I really don't want to fight you, Klemper. Not if I can help it. Just… give me a chance. Let me show you the truth."

"The truth?" Klemper growled, the misty aura around him intensifying. "Why should I believe anything you say?"

Danny looked him in the eye, his voice calm but urgent. "Because you're curious, aren't you? Deep down, you wonder what the Penguin really thinks of you. If he truly sees you as a friend… or something else. Just give me one chance to prove it. Just one. If I'm wrong, and he does care about you—then I won't stop you. I'll even let you get your payback."

Klemper hovered silently in the air, his gaze locked on Danny's face, searching for any sign of deception. Seconds passed in tense silence, the energy sphere in his hand shrinking slightly as his emotions calmed.

"Fine," Klemper said at last. "One chance. That's all you get."

"That's all I asked for," Danny replied, breathing a sigh of relief. He tapped the communicator in his ear. "Robin, do you copy?"

Robin's voice crackled through the line, breathless. "Danny, I'm kinda in the middle of something here. This better be important."

---

Meanwhile, on the other end of the comm line, chaos reigned.

Robin vaulted across the room, his staff in one hand and the modified Fenton thermos in the other. Ghostly sprites swarmed the area, darting like hornets, firing rapid ghost rays in all directions. Robin ducked and rolled, striking one sprite mid-air and sending it crashing into the wall. He immediately aimed the thermos and activated the suction mechanism, pulling the stunned ghost into containment.

Without missing a beat, Robin clenched the staff between his teeth, drew his grappling gun, and fired a line across the chamber. He zipped out of the path of incoming ghost blasts, the sheer intensity of the beams scorching the floor and walls behind him. Their attacks left molten marks where they struck.

Mid-flight, Robin pressed the thermos into the center of the room, leaving it active. The suction beam spiraled upward like a glowing vortex, acting as a beacon and trap.

Landing against the wall with agile grace, he rebounded, flipping through the air and redirecting himself. As another sprite charged him, Robin struck it mid-spin with his staff, launching it directly into the suction beam where it was captured.

"Alright," Robin muttered, slamming a second, a third, and a fourth sprite into the pull of the vortex. "I'll go along with your plan, Danny… but you're going to have to wait. There's way too many of these guys to handle."

Danny's voice came through again. "Did you forget the added function I built into the thermos?"

Robin blinked in realization, then groaned. "Oh, for Christ's sake…" he muttered, annoyed at himself for forgetting the custom upgrade Danny had just installed.

Robin wasn't the only one holding the line.

Across the room, Batman fought with brutal precision, his armored fists covered in ectoplasmic knuckle dusters. He backhanded a sprite with such force that it shattered into spectral goo, the remnants immediately pulled into the beacon's vacuum.

In front of him, Oswald Cobblepot—the Penguin—cowered and stumbled backward, his voice rising in panicked command. "Stop him! Don't just float there, you worthless poltergeists! Attack! Stop him! Don't let him get closer!"

Batman ignored the yelling. He advanced relentlessly, He turned many of the sprites into goo as well with one solid hit. He stood, turned, and in a blur of motion, lunged forward, seizing the Penguin by the lapels.

With a force that rattled the Penguin's bones, Batman slammed him against the wall.

"Speak," Batman growled, voice low and dangerous. "Where are the weapons? What is your endgame?"

The Penguin's face twisted in a sneer. He tried to spit at Batman's face, but the Dark Knight tilted his head at the last moment. Without hesitation, Batman drove his fist forward, shattering the Penguin's nose. Blood splattered across his face in a crimson spray.

"UGH!" the Penguin howled in agony, voice distorted through his nasal cavity. "You broke my nose! You brute! I'll pay you back for this—!"

Batman didn't flinch. He leaned in, his gloved hand wrapping around the Penguin's fingers, beginning to apply pressure. "Next, it won't just be your nose. It'll be each of your fingers… and maybe even your limbs next. Now talk."

The Penguin gritted his teeth, blood trickling from his ruined nose. "Do your worst… I've faced you before, I've already grown weary of your threats!"

Batman's eyes narrowed as Danny's voice suddenly crackled through the comms in his ear. He paused for only a second, just enough to listen. Danny had finally been given a break to explain what he had discovered in the hidden room and was ready to report his findings.

As Batman continued to press the Penguin against the cracked wall, Robin kept close, vigilantly watching his back. Any sprite that dared approach was quickly intercepted. In one fluid motion, Robin slid across the floor, snatched the still-active thermos from the ground, and spun onto his feet.

He twisted the head of the thermos. The suction beam widened increasing the range, intensifying into a roaring vortex of force. Robin swept the device across the battlefield like a powered vacuum. Groups of the ghostly sprites were drawn inward, pulled in helplessly like tadpoles spiraling into a drain. Their shrieks echoed faintly before being silenced by the closing seal.

Batman's voice was calm but cutting. "I see it now," he said coldly. "You were replacing your henchmen with ghosts. That was your plan all along. Amass an army of spirits—stronger, stealthier, more capable"

The Penguin growled, his expression crumbling. "How—? Damn it!" He spat to the side, realizing the game was up. "Fine! Yes, you figured it out! Happy now, you smug freak?"

He sneered through bloodied gums, his broken nose dripping crimson. "Those little ghost pests were perfect. They could vanish, fly, phase through walls—everything my idiot thugs can't do. But they were chaotic, wild, mischievous little brats. I couldn't control them properly."

Batman's jaw tensed. "So you turned to WayneTech."

"Exactly," the Penguin barked. "I discovered Wayne Enterprises was developing anti-ghost technology—containment units, suppressors, weapons. I needed that tech. If I had it, I could control my army completely."

"That research is classified," Batman growled. "Top secret. Locked behind the highest security protocols."

The Penguin chuckled bitterly. "Not so secure, apparently. Thanks to that brute Klemper, I got what I needed. He was surprisingly useful—for a clingy, obnoxious idiot."

Robin, now approaching with the thermos sealed and clipped to his belt, seized the opportunity. "Klemper?" he echoed, pretending to play dumb, he finally saw his opportunity and it was time to act. "Wasn't that the ghost you said was your friend? I didn't take you for someone who cared about friendship, Oswald."

"Friend?" the Penguin scoffed, disgusted. "Don't be ridiculous. The Penguin has no need for friends. That annoying ghost showed up one day at my lounge, babbling about being friends just because of the stupid iceberg in the room. I shot at him. Hired an exorcist. Nothing worked. But he kept coming back."

He grinned, a cruel, bleeding smirk forming beneath his swollen lip. "That's when I realized I could use him. Since he was so desperate to be my friend, I gave him a little test. Told him if he really wanted to be useful, he'd go sneak into the place with the highest security in all of Gotham, WayneTech and get me something valuable. It was a way to test his usefulness. And he did. He actually pulled it off. That's when I knew I could string him along."

Robin twirled his staff lazily over his shoulders, his expression unreadable. "So, he passed your 'friendship test,' huh? I have one more question for you, then… Do you actually consider Klemper your friend now?"

The Penguin rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Of course not! What do I look like—some sentimental idiot? That clingy bastard's nothing more than a pawn. A tool. All I have to do is snap my fingers and he comes running, ready to grovel at my feet, all in the name of friendship. Pathetic."

Robin tilted his head slightly, then turned over his shoulder with a quiet smirk. "You get that, Danny?"

There was a shimmer of distortion behind him, and two figures faded into view.

Danny stood with his arms crossed, giving Robin a simple thumbs-up.

Beside him, Klemper floated in the air—his spectral body shaking, fists clenched tightly at his sides. Glowing tears spilled freely from his eyes, turning to icy particles as they fell and disappeared. His aura was no longer calm and chill—it boiled like a blizzard on the verge of eruption.

He didn't speak. He just stared at the Penguin, the betrayal carved into his face.

The Penguin's expression froze as he looked past Robin and realized what had just happened.

"Oh, for fuck's sake…" he muttered, his voice a mixture of dread and disbelief.

Klemper hovered forward, eyes burning. The temperature in the room plummeted.

"Let me guess," Robin said, stepping aside with a sly grin. "He doesn't look so pathetic now, does he?"

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