"A more terrifying and extreme possibility." Bruce looked at the monitor, sighing as he said, "Perhaps the horrific consequences I laid out to Pamela weren't just a joke."
"What do you mean?" Lex asked, crossing his arms.
"If things had gone as expected, Talia should have stormed out of Rodriguez Manor half an hour ago, furious beyond belief. But she didn't."
"Perhaps Professor Shearer subdued her."
Brushing off Lex with a glance, Bruce continued typing, "If it was Professor Shearer, he wouldn't have subdued her; he would have either killed her or driven her away. If Talia truly were subdued, then it wouldn't have been the Professor."
"And we're still left with a worse option." Bruce stopped what he was doing, turning to look at Lex, "Talia wasn't subdued, but rather, lured."
He glanced back up, the cold light of the monitor illuminating his rugged features, and remarked with a sigh, "If Talia doesn't leave Rodriguez Manor within the next two hours, she's completely fallen."
Sitting on an office chair next to Bruce, perplexed and slightly irritated, Lex asked, "I don't understand, what exactly are you speculating, and what are you worried about?"
Bruce paused for a moment, considering the necessity of giving a detailed explanation. But as he considered Lex to be a potential ally, he generously shared his thoughts.
"If Talia isn't coming out, it might mean that the one inside the manor is not Professor Shearer. You know he houses many personalities, and I've met the most dangerous one of them."
"Who?"
"Manipulation."
Bruce lowered his gaze, and Lex, catching his eye, saw an unparalleled seriousness that far exceeded his brooding face and downward-turning mouth when he was Batman.
"Beneath Shearer's Tower of Thought lies an abyss, home to his inherent morbidity, not something he acquired over time, nor inherently evil, but the true Shearer from a time we never knew nor could understand."
"And these personalities at the top of his Tower of Thought, their most dangerous characteristic is their supreme interest towards satisfying their curiosity, disregarding morality, law, and even emotions."
Rolling his Adam's apple, Bruce put forth, "They kill or save, only because they find the process intriguing."
"So?"
"So, as long as it's interesting enough, Manipulation will manipulate anyone, and can make anyone a target. That includes us."
"But why? We..."
"Because it's fun." Bruce took a deep breath and said, "Usually, Professor Shearer would consider the fun side of things, but that's just a flavor. He would find benefits in a fun event, and add fun into a profitable event."
"But the morbidity beneath the abyss can completely ignore the benefits, like a never-satiated infant fulfilling their needs, disregarding harm to themselves or others in the process"
"You'll possibly be surprised by the thoroughness of his attitude change." Bruce sighed, "It'll seem as though we are mortal enemies and he'll do anything to annihilate us, not because we are his enemies, but simply because he finds it interesting."
"What's interesting about it?"
"It's entertaining how he can just sit in an air-conditioned room and give orders, and we need to flee from those who are manipulated by him in temperatures up to thirty-eight degrees."
"So where's the fun in that?"
"You're not the kind of person who would strangle sparrows with your bare hands at the age of seven. Thus, you will never understand what's fun about it." Bruce covered his forehead, "Sadists get pleasure from others' pain. He's just trying to find a suitable leisure pastime in the hot scorching summer."
"It sounds like daydreaming at the bed, watching the fan blades turn, finding joy in the idea of a machine working tirelessly for your comfort until its lifetime is exhausted and died."
"Sounds juvenile."
"Morbidity is juvenile, it's regressive. Pursuing pleasure without considering the consequences is child's play." Bruce gazed absent-mindedly at the screen and said, "But can you say you've never done it before?"
Lex let out a gentle sigh, deciding to discuss more practical matters, "So, we're like a pair of clowns in a circus, performing tricks to entertain him"
"Cut it out, it is more like he's let the lions loose inside the circus, and we're just a pair of unlucky sods sitting in the spectators."
"But you're his student."
"Which gives him even more reason not to let me off easy."
Lightly slapping his forehead, Lex asked, "What have you been doing these past four years?"
"I have a rough idea of the kind of person Professor Shearer is. But if you insist that I fully understand Shearer, you'd better start working hard in your lab from now on." Bruce looked up at the ceiling, "And... figure out a way to keep me alive for another five million years."
When Talia woke up, she saw a dark brown ceiling. The intricate patterns blurred in her fuzzy vision like an embedded maze, and it was Shearer's voice that brought her consciousness back.
"Miss Talia, Miss Talia, are you awake?"
Talia could feel her cold sweat soaking through the silk sheet. Why was she lying defenselessly in a stranger's, or even an enemy's house? She didn't even feel them approaching her bed!
In her life, she had never lost vigilance like this before; her mind went blank for a moment. Just then, she felt something cold being thrust into her hand.
When Talia looked down, it was a glass of ice water. She took a deep breath, gathered her long, dark hair in the back of her head, placed the glass on the bedside table and said, "Thank you, but I'm not thirsty."
She had truly had enough of this deadly pair of mentor and disciple.
Talia suspected that Shiller might have drugged her. Although she didn't drink the tea Shiller offered her, she knew there were many ways to poison someone. Staying here any longer would not be a good idea because anything she contacts could potentially be poisonous.
"I apologize for intruding into your room, but when you didn't answer my knock on the door, I was worried something might have happened to you."
Shiller, however, sat down by the bed. Turning to face Talia, he said, "I came here to apologize to you, Miss. Miss Pamela came to me and brought a message. My student Bruce Wayne dazed you in a way that is against the law, utterly immoral, and even horrifying during your date."
Just as Talia was about to say something, Shiller placed a hand on the bedsheet, leaning forward to look at her seriously and saying, "I don't know why you didn't tell me about this the moment you came to see me. Or, perhaps, this is an even worse sign -- you know what he did, but you don't dare to hold him accountable."
Talia stayed with her mouth open, then closed it again, looking away. She wondered, why hadn't she justifiably accused Bruce to Shiller?
She couldn't exactly say that if she had managed to scrape her nails across Bruce's skin beforehand, the one who would have been dazed would be Bruce himself, could she?
Talia wondered if this might be another test from Shiller, so she said, "He might have done this because of some of my previous radical behavior, so I..."
"Such as?"
Confusion crossed Talia's face as she looked at Shiller and said, "Such as what?"
"What radical actions did you take?"
"On occasions when he never left me any contact information, I called his private number several times. Half of the time, it was his butler who answered. I looked for him in places he frequently visited, but did not find him. I asked some of his classmates and friends where he had gone, but none of them knew."
"In other words, you were harassing him."
Talia nodded without holding back: "So, if he..."
"Then he should have gone to the police and applied for a personal restriction order against you instead of drugging you."
Talia was genuinely stunned; she stared directly at Shiller, unable to determine if she was hearing things.
First of all, even if Shiller weren't the puppet master capable of controlling the world as he seemed, merely a common Gothamite, the word "police" was fantastical coming from his mouth.
"He has seriously violated both the law and morality, Miss Talia. The only reason I can think of for your indifference is that his identity and status have intimidated you, leaving you afraid to speak about your experience."
Shiller sighed gently, as if lamenting, "And if even you don't have the courage, I find it hard to imagine who else might step forward under such circumstances."
"This is bad news for me because it suggests that it is highly likely that there are many whom my student has abused in the same manner in places I've never paid attention to. And because they are afraid, they don't dare to speak."
Everything happened so quickly that Talia hadn't figured out what was going on. The main reason was that she had never been a victim before.
This beautiful and dangerous woman was always the villain. She was always the aggressor and perpetrator. People commonly referred to her as madly evil, merciless, and horrifyingly dark.
"I believe there may be a misunderstanding," Talia began, "I've emphasized to you before; I am not a fragile little girl."
"But he did make you unconscious, didn't he?" Shiller looked back at Talia. "Are you very sure that you would not encounter danger during that period?"
How could Talia be sure? The fact was, this was the biggest slip-up she had made in ten years. If it weren't for their plan going awry, Talia truly didn't know what might have happened to her.
"I'm sorry; putting pressure on the victim was not my intention." Shiller rose from beside the bed; his shadow cast over Talia, making her feel like a sparrow before a window.
"Anyway, my conscience tells me I might have to bear some responsibility for the failure of my own education. I hope a sumptuous dinner can soothe your wound, at least partially."
Suddenly, Shiller bent down slightly. Talia stiffened as the distance between them rapidly lessened, daring not to move. As she turned her eyes slightly, she saw his semi-transparent fangs glistening in the afternoon sun.
He must have like this, sunk his fangs into many people, injected his poisonous words into their brains, sucked, gnawed, devoured...
Shiller almost whispered in her ear, "Please be sure to attend, Miss Talia, consider it an opportunity for me to soothe my guilt. Precious ingredients will offer their sacrifice for your kindness."
After Shiller left, Talia sat on the bed, silent for a long time.
She turned her head to look out the window, using the view to calm herself and gather her scattered attention since just now.