Greed God chapter 13

January 6th 2016 Gotham City Docks 8:00 PM EDT

It  had taken very little effort to arrange a meeting for the next night  with Mal. Once he bought the ring he was so excited he texted me a  picture right away and asked when my friend wanted to meet. He wanted to  know if the bonus for the trial was one time only or if he would be  getting paid throughout the whole thing, and it was hard not to break  into maniacal laughter over the phone.

Still,  I managed to sound sincere and upbeat when I arranged for him to meet  me in my costume at this warehouse on the Gotham docks. I bought the  warehouse through an anonymous shell company (being a Lord I'd learned  to set one of those up before I was potty trained) and decided to make  it my new base in my identity as Mammon. Operating long term out of  Metropolis was just a bad plan. I could just commute until I was at a  level to deal with the Kryptonians infesting my city.

So  I showed up to my new warehouse and realize the whole place was a  fucking pigsty. I decided to have Mal clean this place up as his first  official minion job once I had him hooked. In the meantime I chose to  stand as I waited for him so I didn't get my swanky suit dirty. I didn't  have to wait long. I told him eight o clock and he was here at eight on  the dot, pushing the door open as quietly as he could as he looked  around nervously. When he didn't see me he decided to call out. "Hello?  Anyone here?"

I  stepped into the light, catching his attention and admittedly enjoying  seeing him jump when he noticed me. I swept into a deep, courteous bow.  "Greetings friend. I am Mammon. Please forgive my eccentric method of  dress. I suffered an unfortunate accident in my youth and my face looks  quite a fright." I'd decided to go with the whole deformed face alibi  here because the mask and warehouse gave a villainous impression. By  making it an issue of shame I gave the impression the questioning it  would be rude or mean spirited.

Sure  enough the slight suspicion on his face melted into pity. "Ah, sorry to  hear that man. Yeah, I was going to say the look is a little...ominous.  So Nick tells me you're looking for some kind of tester for a new  formula? What exactly does this thing do? Is it safe? I agreed to take  the meeting but I need to be convinced this is a risk worth taking  before I decide to go further." He shifted anxiously from foot to foot,  and I noted that he must really want this to work out. Having that kind  of money must have already had him craving the validation the  enhancement would bring. A taste of the good life as it were.

I  nodded amiably. "Oh, of course. Safety first my friend. I'm happy to  discuss my process with you in detail. I'm afraid I must ask you not to  share the chemical compounds involved with others, they are my trade  secrets after all, but you can ask me anything you'd like to know." This  was, of course, a bluff. Mal wasn't a chemist any more than I was, he  would have no idea what to ask. But by telling him he could ask anything  I gave the impression of having nothing to hide, which made me seem  more trustworthy.

Sure  enough he paused after I said that, opening his mouth before closing it  again looking a bit lost. One of the first lessons my old man ever  taught me about business was the usefulness of subjective value. People  are inherently disposed to feel indebted when someone gives them a gift,  it creates the foundation of a relationship, a link between them. If  you give someone a gift that has no value to you they won't feel nearly  as grateful. But if you give someone something that SEEMS valuable but  actually isn't you can build a link with them without sacrificing  anything.

I  had, as far as Mal understood, offered to share with him the top secret  formula to my amazing super drug. I knew he would have no fucking idea  what to do with that information, but if I was a bad guy I'd have taken  my evil secret formula to the grave before giving it up. Or at least  that was his thinking. I was actually pretty glad he hadn't known  anything about chemistry, because I sure as hell didn't so I'd have had  to make some shit up on the spot. As it was now I'd earned brownie  points for nothing, which was a win.

Deciding  to take control of the conversation I cut into his temporary silence.  "If you aren't sure where to begin I can just fill you in on some of the  details I think may be pertinent?" He looked relieved and nodded  gratefully. I smirked under my mask, gods this was too easy. "As you may  be aware, my childhood was...less than pleasant." I looked dramatically  away out of shame, just for effect.

I  had decided on a backstory for this character earlier so I was well  prepared for the sob story. "I was victimized and maligned because of my  intellect and freakish appearance. As I grew, I noticed that those with  abilities were treated differently, better. It became my fervent wish  to experience such a life myself, to earn the respect that those with  meta powers were given for nothing." I saw him nodding along. "I  discovered a chemical compound that reinforces the cellular structure,  altering the base composition of the body."

I  held up a hand as if to forestall an objection (one he wasn't actually  going to make anyway). "I know what you're thinking. Compromising the  molecular structure is a dangerous and foolish risk. I too worried over  the inherent pitfalls of my method. I combed my brain for years trying  to discover a safe way to offer people like me the help I so desperately  wished to give." I pulled out the pills. "Finally I found it. By  creating microdoses of the compound I can allow people to experience a  safe and temporary version the abilities offered by the full drug. A  testing phase of sorts that wears off after merely a dozen hours  eliminating the possibility of side effects."

Mal's  face lit up. "Oh, so it's kind of a trial dose? It's just a safe way to  see if my body can handle the real thing?" He looked excited. "Yeah  man, I could definitely help with something like that. Nick said you  would pay a salary for participating? How much does it pay and how long  before you can tell from my reaction if I can handle the full dose?" He  looked absolutely ecstatic about the possibility of trying the drug, and  I grinned toothily under my mask. Another of the old mans lessons.  People question charity, but they don't question when you ask THEM to  help YOU.

I  reached into a pocket and pulled out a roll of hundreds. I'd stopped at  the ATM on the way here for this very reason. It would be too easy to  trace if I wired him the cash. Mammon was supposed to be shadowy and  illusive. I tossed him the roll of bills and he caught it, eyes glued to  the money. I just couldn't stop smiling. Good thing I had a mask on. I  carefully emptied a pill into my hand and passed it to him. I saw him  hesitate a bit, as if he was rethinking things, before looking at the  bills and then tossing it back, dry swallowing the capsule in one  motion.

I  expected something flashy or violent like last time, but in the end this  was temporary. A total remodel wasn't a viable method for a temporary  effect. Mal shuddered, and the veins beneath his dark skin glowed dimly  in the shadows, not enough for him to notice, but with my enhanced  senses I picked it up. Then his eyes opened and he grinned. He bolted  across the room, moving too fast for a normal person to track, and  grabbed a huge metal crate with both hands before bending his knees and  lifting.

The crate came up off the  ground easily, and he stumbled back as he overbalanced, laughing as he  caught himself before he fell and set it back down. He turned and raced  over to me, grabbing me up in a crushing bear hug that probably would  have cracked a rib on a normal person, and might even have bruised me if  I wasn't wrapped in a force field. He put me down and clapped both  hands on my shoulders. "Mammon, doc, just...thank you. This feels  incredible. I feel like I could fight a bear right now."

He  could have fought a bear. Probably a few of them actually, but it  seemed like a meaningless detail so I didn't bother to mention it. I  clapped him on the shoulder, happy to see him happy. Well, happy to see  him euphoric, since this was step one of an addiction i was going to use  to turn him into my loyal subordinate. But hey, six of one half dozen  of another right? "I'm glad you're pleased. Your body seems to be taking  well to the amplification. Just to be safe we'll need to run some  tests, but I think tonight you should just focus on getting used to your  new strength."

If  he went out and did his own thing the time with powers would make that  much more of an impression and he would be that much more desperate to  repeat it. He nodded excitedly. "Oh, yeah of course. We can set up the  next meeting for tomorrow if you want. That way I can tell you all about  how it goes. You said it'll last twelve hours? Man, I don't even want  to sleep! This is going to be amazing!" He was practically vibrating  with energy and happiness. I wondered if that was the influence of the  cocaine?

Regardless  I shook his hand and patted him on the arm. "Tomorrow I'm afraid I'm a  bit busy. Take some time to acclimate, spend your earnings, enjoy  yourself. There's no rush to get to the next stage. For now the  important thing is to make sure your body is accepting the trial dose  properly and you can adapt to it in preparation for the permanent  upgrade." His eyes gleamed with avarice at the mention of the full  upgrade but he tamped it down.

He  swallowed, getting control of himself. "Yeah, of course doc. No sweat.  I'll take it slow, feel it out and let you know how it goes. Thanks  again." He shook my hand and took off at a jog, clearly eager to go  break in his new body. Good. Speaking of breaking in bodies I glanced  down at mine. After my upgrade I'd gone straight to work, aside from  feeling up Whisper I hadn't even christened my new improved physique.

I  dug into a pocket and pulled up my phone, firing off a text. "Need to  celebrate good news. Get your sweet little ass down here." Then I sent  the address to a park a few miles away. I wasn't flowery or evocative.  Barbie didn't want that kind of relationship. Barbie wanted a bad boy to  do her dirty and I was going to oblige her. I felt myself get hard just  thinking about what she felt like wrapped around me. Barbie was a hot  little bitch and she had the sweetest little cunt I'd ever been in. I  was looking forward to round two.

I  heard a ding and opened my texts, grinning at what I saw. "Fuck you. On  my way."There was a slight delay before I got another text, opening it  with a satisfied smirk. "Daddy." I headed out to my car, stashing my  costume and changing into something more street casual before I drove up  the road to the park nearby and climbed out to wait for her. I sat  there for fifteen minutes before I heard a rustle and turned to find her  coming out of the bushes in a little black dress. She glared at me,  annoyed. "Get your dick out asshole, I was out with friends and I have  to get back." I grinned shamelessly at her before I unbuckled my pants.