Oswald Cobblepot was a pretty great young man.
Even though he looked extreme, violent, twisted, and full of ambition, radiating bad-guy energy from head to toe.
Gwen still thought highly of him.
You can't judge people by appearances.
When Gwen fished him out of the water, the boy's eyes were burning with raging flames.
That's a figure of speech. You could also say they were shining with greedy light.
There were no bullet holes on his body, but one leg had been broken. He was shivering in the icy seawater, face pale blue. Even so, Gwen saw no fear or anger in his eyes—only joy, and cruelty.
"Ah, Gotham!"
The soaked young man wrapped in a blanket looked at the city across the river and sighed with genuine admiration.
This kid survived a great disaster. He was destined to achieve great things later. In Eastern terms, this child is terrifyingly promising and his future is limitless.
Of course, not necessarily in a good way.
From Gwen's years of experience as an extra, if Officer Gordon was the protagonist of the story, then this young man he had spared would definitely become the super-criminal he would love and fight for the rest of his life.
But Gwen didn't care. Heroes, villains—she had seen plenty.
The line between good and evil wasn't always so clear.
Or rather, who had the right to judge good and evil?
"Want a grilled sausage?"
"Ah, thank you!" Cobblepot snapped back to reality, full of gratitude. "Thank you so much. Without you, I definitely couldn't have swum over."
"No, I think you could."
"I could?"
"Your will to survive is very strong. Even if I hadn't saved you, you could have reached the other shore. You'd just suffer a bit." Gwen told the truth. "I just did it casually. No need to thank me. If you really feel bad about it, next time you meet someone in trouble like you, just pass on this kindness."
Cobblepot looked flattered, his face turning red. This kid clearly lacked care from others. He took Gwen's honest words as praise and couldn't hide his excitement.
"No, no, I'm not sure… Um, kind miss, what should I call you?"
"Ghost-Spider."
"Spider?"
"It's my superhero codename."
"You think you're a superhero?" Cobblepot's expression looked like he had eaten a fly. Gwen completely understood. Normal people feeling disgusted by real-life tight-suit chuunibyou was a very normal reaction.
"It's not that I think I am. I am your superhero." Gwen looked at Cobblepot seriously. "I pulled you out of the water, found you a blanket, bought you grilled sausage, and asked for nothing in return. What do you think I am? An idiot?"
Cobblepot thought carefully, then nodded with a smile. "You're right! Miss Spider, you are my superhero! Sorry, I… I wanted to say angel. Actually it's the same, right? You're a good person. You saved me. You're a hero!"
He was a little incoherent, his smile a bit manic, but his eyes were sincere.
People with sincere eyes aren't necessarily good people, but they deserve to be treated with kindness.
Sometimes, when people do good or evil things, it isn't entirely because of their own subjective will—they're influenced by others.
The overall social atmosphere in Gotham made it easy for people to slide into the abyss of depravity. That wasn't a simple problem that could be solved by punching criminals.
Gwen stayed with him until they finished the sausages, clapped her hands, and stood up to leave. Cobblepot looked a little lost, wanting to keep her but not knowing how to say it.
Young men are like that. If a pretty girl sat beside you and bought you sausage, you wouldn't want her to leave either.
"Spider, where are you going?"
Gwen patiently corrected him. "It's Ghost-Spider!"
Cobblepot curled his lip. "Too much of a mouthful. You made that up yourself, right? Let me give you some advice—Spider is better. You're not from Gotham, are you? In Gotham you have to follow local customs. You know, a lot of people here only have the brain capacity of a peanut. They can't remember complicated names. They thought my name was too hard to say, so they nicknamed me Penguin!"
"Penguin?"
It did sound like a supervillain codename.
Gwen shook her head, bent down, and looked down at Cobblepot. "Have you ever heard the saying: there are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names?"
Cobblepot's smile twisted. He laughed self-mockingly. "That's right. They all say I look especially like a penguin."
"No, that's bullshit!"
Gwen said seriously, "You said it yourself—their brain capacity is only peanut-sized. They can only remember people by nicknames. Nicknames don't have high or low status. Only personality does—noble or卑劣. Today they call you Penguin Baby, little Penguin, and you feel humiliated. What if tomorrow they call you Mr. Penguin? Mayor Penguin?"
"Mayor Penguin?"
Cobblepot laughed like he had heard the funniest joke, laughing so hard he nearly passed out. After a long while he finally calmed down and looked at Gwen. "That actually sounds pretty great. Do you think I could be mayor of Gotham?"
"You still want to go back?"
Gwen was a little surprised. "There's a cop who put a gun to the back of your head, shot you, and pushed you into the sea, and you still dare to go back?"
"Of course!"
Cobblepot said loudly, "That's my home! That's my city! I belong to Gotham. How could I leave!"
He bit his lip and shrugged. "I don't hate Gordon—ah… that dead cop. He's also a good man, a good cop. But good cops can't survive in Gotham. Someone had leverage on him. He was forced to kill me to silence me. But he didn't do it. He saved me! He gave me a way out!"
Cobblepot looked up at Gwen, tears sparkling in his eyes. "My mom told me I'm a lucky child, a child favored by God. She was right. I always meet good people!"
"So you still want to go back and keep courting death?"
"That's not courting death!" Cobblepot said angrily. "Listen, little Spider! Even though you talk like an old lady, I know you're not that old. Since you saved me, I'll tell you a secret—war! War is about to break out! Right here in Gotham! Go home! Stop playing superhero role-play on the streets! Gotham doesn't need justice heroes. You have no idea how deep the water is here! Stay home and don't come out, or you'll die without a grave!"
This guy changed faces faster than flipping a book. He clearly had some mental issues.
"I'm not a Boy Scout, Mr. Penguin." Gwen raised her hand and shot a web. "Actually, I'm still a wanted criminal by the GCPD!"