Gotham City Park
The homeless man sat in his usual spot next to a tree, reading a book about philosophy and basking in the sun. He closed the book and looked up as he heard a familiar set of footsteps.
"I didn't think you'd be back so quickly. Do you have your answer?" the homeless man remarked as he locked eyes with the teenager who came to visit, raising an eyebrow and sending him a quizzical glance.
He still didn't know the boy's name, but he didn't need to. Not when he saw Gray's physique improve faster than any human physique had the right to during the latter's runs for the past month.
"I already figured out the answer two days ago. I just had some loose ends to tie up..." Gray calmly replied, and the man, Richard, saw through it as an attempt to impress him but said nothing, merely nodding.
"Loose ends to tie up?" Richard remarked, crossing his arms. "What exactly do you think we'll be doing here?" he asked with a tilted head, slight amusement leaking from his tone, feeling the urge to mess with the boy.
"I don't know," Gray replied, shaking his head. "That's why I came prepared just in case," he added with a shrug, to which Richard nodded again, understanding where Gray was coming from and the meaning behind his words.
He was basically hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, meaning he had some doubts about Richard, but he still came nonetheless, likely expecting guidance.
"It's good to be prepared," Richard praised, holding back a smile as he watched Gray try to hide the happiness at the praise and do a decent job at it too, but it couldn't escape Richard's eyes.
Richard was many things during his eventful life; a thief, a warrior, a special agent, a killer, and finally, a martial arts instructor, giving him a keen eye for observing people and enabling him to train even the most troubled of men like Vic Sage, The Question, despite being in a wheelchair at the time.
Seeing through Gray was no more child's play to him, which is why he managed to so effortlessly leave such an impression on the teen, making Gray seek him on his own accord.
"But I must ask, why did you really come here?" Richard asked, gesturing questioningly with his right. "I'm a stranger, a homeless one at that. You only had my word to go on, so why?" he added, pausing to observe Gray's expression as the latter displayed a hesitant expression.
Seeing the hesitance in Gray's eyes and the likely significance of the upcoming answer, Richard gestured for him to sit down, to which he obliged with a nod of gratitude and devolved into silent thought.
Richard didn't say anything else, resuming his reading to allow Gray the needed time to put his thoughts into words. He knew better than to rush the young man.
"Don't you find it strange?" Gray asked, sighing after a couple of minutes of thought, prompting Richard to look up from his book as he turned to face the young man.
"What is?" Richard asked in genuine confusion. He expected a myriad of answers which Gray could give him, but he never thought his question would only be returned with another instead of a reply.
"This city... don't you find it strange?" Gray repeated, getting the same questioning look from Richard, prompting him to continue. "It's just weird how everything, everyone seems forced in one direction or the other here..." he added, a slight scowl of disgust appearing on his face.
"Whatever do you mean?" Richard asked, frowning as he felt his confusion only grow the more he listened, having no idea where a conversation was going for the first time in a long time.
"The people in this city; they are all rotten to the core with precious few exceptions," Gray replied, trying to describe his plight in a way that didn't reveal too much about his origin.
"The few people who aren't pure evil or pragmatic take it to the other extreme instead," Gray explained as he turned to the ground. "Like Dr. Thompkins. Despite her age, she doesn't rest, doesn't take breaks, and treats everyone who comes her way, fully knowing most of them are unrepentant criminals," he added, slowly shaking his head.
"Then you have Batman and his sidekicks, who refuse to kill demented psychopaths who'd kick infants for shits and giggles," Gray remarked as he turned to Richard. "They throw them into Black Gate or Arkham Asylum, knowing they would escape and start slaughtering people again, only to start the cycle anew..." he added with an amused smile that only looked maniacal in Richard's eye.
"They have been repeating the same process for years now, and they haven't made a single difference in this city..." Gray said as he sighed and looked away. "They are only humans, yet they don't break, bend, and never attempt to break the cycle..." he explained with a bitter chuckle that sounded more tortured than anything.
"They keep doing the same thing, over and over and over and over and over and over again, without fail, without tiring, all the while expecting a different outcome every damned time," Gray spat out every word with absolute disgust, turning to Richard an intense gaze that gave him pause.
"Humans don't work like that, you know?" Gray said, more twisted amusement leaking through his tone. "Knowing all of this, could you say they are real flesh and blood humans with any certainty?" he asked, and it was Richard's turn to look bewildered this time.
"Not me. When I look at people like Batman, I don't see human beings at all..." Gray said, dismissal gesturing to the side with absolute disregard.
"All I see is fictional characters put in the worst place, and designed to be selfless, destined never to bend or falter, simply to contrast this rotten city," he added, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"They are that way, simply because it makes more compelling and amusing characters. Even our encounter felt like something straight out of a storybook," Gray remarked with another chuckle.
"A mysterious homeless man, coming to rescue a youth on the verge of despair, giving the youth kindness and encouragement when he needed it the most," Gray said, his chuckle turning into a laugh.
"Doesn't that feel like a neat scenario for a hero's origin story?" Gray asked, taking a deep breath to compose himself. "And yet I came here nonetheless, fully knowing that I might be acting on a script, \not my own free will, if I have that even, because..." he added, trailing off as he exhaled the breath he'd been holding.
"For reasons I don't understand, you, your words seemed real to me, unlike everything and everyone I've seen so far, and that's why I came here without much hesitation," Gray concluded with a shrug, having regained the calm he lost while venting his emotions.
For the first time in a long time, Richard felt speechless after listening to Gray's rant, and he didn't have a reply ready. He had to think about it instead, prompting him to sigh.
"Sou you think that you, me, and basically every other human being is a fictional character, bound to a narrative or a scenario of sorts?" Richard calmly asked within a minute of thought, earning a nod from Gray.
"That's a hell of a thing to casually dump on someone's lap like that, kid..." Richard said, sighing in exasperation and scratching his head. "Still... I can't deny such a possibility, not after hearing that..." he added, as he observed Gray's expression, seeing the various, chaotic emotions he'd displayed earlier disappear, replaced by a mask of calm.
There was expectation beneath the calm that Richard would have the answer, that he would assure Gray and give him a purpose, a reason, anything.
Richard had no idea why Gray had so much confidence in himself, despite meticulously working to leave an impression on the boy, and Gray himself said he didn't know.
Perhaps it was this so-called script at work here, Richard mused, a sliver of doubt slithering into his impenetrable mind, but he quickly pushed it down.
He didn't know why the boy expected him to have an answer, but he'd be damned if he didn't give him one. His pride as a martial arts and philosopher depended on it.
"In the end, does it really matter?" Richard asked, resuming his carefree smile, much to Gray's confusion, disbelief, and disappointment at the answer.
"Whether or not something is controlling your every move and waking thought, you can only know for sure if you get on the same level as it," he added with a careless shrug.
"You only need to have enough strength to stand in the face of such a being and make it regret messing with you..." Richard stated as he stood up and approached Gray.
"There are ways to gain strength in this world, an infinite number of them, and even though I can't guide you to such heights myself..." Richard said with a smirk, trailing off. "I can sure as hell get you started on your way..." he concluded, reaching a hand towards Gray, which the latter only took after some hesitation.
"And if such a being that controls our lives does exist, do give the motherfucker a kick or two once you're finished with him, for my sake too."
...
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