Bruce looked around and realized he was not the only one listening; after all, this was a public space. And because it was built in a cavern, it was a natural sound field where voices could travel quite far.
After listening to Shiller's treatment process, the audience split into two camps. One group, like Arthur and Bruce, felt surprised or even shocked. The other group gave little reaction, their attention seemingly in one ear and out the other; they casually listened, then carried on with their own affairs.
Clearly, the shocked camp was entirely made up of Gothamites, and especially those who often interacted with Shiller. The more familiar they were, the more shocked they appeared.
The expressionless faces belonged mostly to New Yorkers, who, judging by their expressions, had brushed off Shiller's recent analysis within less than two minutes, as it passed over and vanished from their cerebral cortex.
But precisely because this was a public space with sound amplifying capabilities, the shocked Gothamites dared not say anything, fearing that Shiller might hear them and bear a grudge, old or new, which could bring big trouble.
Fortunately, at that moment, the waitstaff came to notify everyone that it was time to serve the dishes. This meant that the seating needed to be adjusted to fill the tables as much as possible, especially gathering the children together to sit quietly at the table edge, resulting in a bit of chaos in the restaurant.
Shiller ended up at Professor X's table, sitting almost directly opposite Magneto, but it wasn't just mutants at the table. The teachers and students of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters had their own separate table, and after Shiller arrived, Bruce and Victor also joined in.
White Can wouldn't be outdone and came over as well. Natasha followed right behind him, wrapped in a towel, her hair not fully dry. Then came an assortment of Gothamites with looks of astonishment as if they were seeing some rare animal for the first time—Pamela, Lex, and even the family man Alberto, along with the decidedly non-Gothamite Clark and Diana.
The last two didn't find anything amiss, but they knew that this group converging surely spelled trouble.
Bruce scanned the crowd and decided to take the initiative. He immediately caught Jason's eye at the kids' table. Jason spun his eyes, hopped off the chair, and ran over to Bruce, saying, "You shouldn't have said that about Tim. His cousin wanted to embarrass him at the book club; he was just defending himself. You've hurt his feelings."
As Jason spoke, he furiously signaled to Tim, who had turned at the mention of his name. Tim instantly looked heartbroken, practically inconsolable. Bruce gave him another look, and Tim reined in his emotions, though still making his way over to the other side of Bruce.
"Alright, then let's eat together," Bruce said, pulling Tim close, patting his head, and adding, "Believe me, I never meant to blame you, but next time, talk to me about it straight away, or your mom and dad will have a hard time. Understand?"
Tim nodded, hesitated for a moment, then his eyes twirled, and he put on a show of drying his tears and smiling.
Every table's Batman was getting restless.
Bruce looked at Shiller, who was perusing the menu.
"Is the fried crab good? Professor, have you tried it? I've only had it steamed," he said.
"I've had crab fried with chili, but it was too spicy for me. I think curry crab tastes better. However, once you add seasonings, all crabs taste similar—you mainly get the texture, not much of the flavor," the Professor responded.
"Oh, you don't eat chili peppers? Did you tell them?" Bruce inquired.
"Erik mentioned it for me, but even if he hadn't, I wouldn't have used mind sensing to intimidate people. He worries too much," Professor X explained.
"It's a reasonable precaution," Magneto said coldly.
"I won't access the mental network of the people here," Professor X said, looking around the room. "Not due to morality, but because I truly don't need a deeper understanding of human madness."
"You can handle spicy food?" White Can questioned, holding another corner of the menu, surprised by Shiller's preference for dishes. "The doctor said to eat a light diet. What are you doing?"
"I'm a psychologist," Shiller retorted.
"Still a doctor," White Can insisted.
Unconvinced, Shiller looked at White Can and said, "And what's the point of eating healthy?"
"For health, of course," White Can replied.
"And what's health for?" Shiller prodded.
"For what?" White Can echoed, puzzled.
"To live a little longer," Shiller clarified.
"Why don't you want to live a little longer?" he added, pushing the point.
"Because everyone has to die eventually; don't worry too much," White Can responded, giving up and tossing down the menu. He then glanced at Natasha, still complaining about the cold, and couldn't resist saying, "With all the time you've spent complaining, you could've changed your clothes several times over."
Natasha turned and gave White Can an unamused look, saying, "With the time you're wasting managing my business in the cosmos, Pepper could have chased you down multiple times. So why don't you? Is it because you wear too many clothes?"
She then gave White Can a scathing once-over and added, "Some people dress modestly as a choice; others, it's lack of exercise. And then there are those who both lack the exercise and don't want to lose to these muscle-bound men."
White Can was about to pound the table when a tall figure appeared behind Natasha. Clark, with a beaming smile, handed Natasha a jacket and said, "Madam, you are barely dressed, and the air conditioning here is quite cold. Please don't mind, but wear this."
"Thank you, that's very considerate," Natasha said as she stood up, taking the jacket from Clark. She glanced at the brand label and remarked, surprised, "Oh my, this isn't a cheap brand. You can't just gift it to me. Which room are you in? I'll have the laundry service return it to you."
"1406, I'm in no rush to wear it, madam," Clark assured her.
"Of course," Natasha smiled and nodded, saying, "I trust you have enough muscle to keep yourself warm, but I'm more appreciative of their aesthetic value... maybe they have practical value elsewhere?"
Clark's cheeks suddenly blushed a deep red, and he all but fled back to his own table, where Diana was still popping snacks into her mouth. Seeing Clark flush like a cooked shrimp, she asked, bewildered, "What happened? Where's your jacket?"
Clark sighed and said, "In the lion's den."
The waiter added two stools for Tim and Jason, both of whom could handle their spice, so sitting at the adult's table was no issue, while Dick peered around from behind, but soon, he was busy stopping Aisha from chewing on the stool legs.
Victor gave Bruce a nonchalant look and took the initiative to say to Professor X, "Hello, Professor Xavier, I've heard you're also a professor of psychology."
"Yes, but I'm not currently teaching at any university." Professor X replied with a smile, "I've started my own school and I'm currently serving as both headmaster and professor."
"Unexpected," Victor said. "That must not be easy, just teaching one class gives me a headache, and three of my graduates haven't even sent me their final drafts this year."
The two of them immediately shared a knowing laugh.
Shiller leaned back in his chair and said to Natasha, "Didn't you notice your hair has faded again? You stained the headrest of my clinic's sofa last time."
"Quit talking nonsense, will you? I hadn't even dyed it back then."
"Do you think everyone lacks common sense? All red hair is warm-toned, which natural redhead has a purple sheen? Did you inject some kind of modification serum or some Thanos extract?"
Natasha rolled her eyes and said, "Do you have to bring this up now? Didn't you see how neatly I took the lead earlier?"
At that moment, Wanda came over with Jarvis and whispered something to Professor X beside him. Professor X nodded, and Wanda sat down next to him and next to Shiller.
Shiller immediately gave Natasha a look that said "Look, this is what natural red hair looks like," but then Pamela joined them, and Natasha shot a look back at Shiller that meant "See, this hair is all green and still natural, right?"
Lex looked left and then right, about to speak, but the waiter had already started bringing out the dishes.
"This crab is so big." Wanda said in surprise, "Is this a swimmer crab? How come it's almost as big as a king crab?"
"Oh no, there are chilies in this crab." Shiller glanced at Professor X, then stood up and went to the plate to take a closer look and said, "It's Mexican chili, it could be very spicy."
Magneto's face turned dark in an instant, and he turned his head to the waiter, but Jarvis quickly said, "The chili is just placed on top of the crab, it's for garnish and shouldn't be spicy if it hasn't been fried."
Magneto's expression eased slightly, Shiller laughed again and turned to look at Professor X, who just shook his head with a resigned sigh.
Wanda snorted and said, "The internet is a wonderful thing, too bad some people don't know how to use it."
Shiller immediately grabbed Wanda, and when she looked at him, he said in a lowered voice, "Don't provoke your dad, if a fight breaks out, I won't be able to see how big that lobster behind us is."
"He's like a ticking bomb these days," Wanda couldn't help but complain. "I used to not believe those reports calling him a terrorist, but now, even terrorists aren't as scary as him."
"Do you know the trouble Lorna got into recently?" Shiller looked around and lowered his voice even further, "Her, Iceman, and Quicksilver, the three of them..."
"Cough cough cough cough cough!" Wanda almost choked herself.
Jarvis hurried to help her catch her breath and comfort her, "It's not entirely bad news, at least she won't have to choose between them anymore."
"Doctor Schiller, look what I got."
Peter swooped in behind Shiller, his arms resting on Schiller's shoulders, then leaned down to circle his arms in front of Schiller's chest, waving a piece of paper in front of Schiller, oblivious to the intense cardiac arrest being experienced by a bunch of Gothamites across from him.
Shiller leaned his head back, almost squishing his double chin, and squinted to barely make out the scribbles on the paper.
"I've found the base of the West Coast rappers, lots of famous ones were there, and they all gave me their autographs! Look, this one is Snoop Dog..."
A mournful wail came from behind Peter as Gwen Spiderman climbed on top of him and snatched the paper away, letting out an even more tragic howl.
"How could you not take us with you, you traitor of Spidermen! Absolutely appalling! Unforgivable!"
"Come on, I didn't even say anything," Miles, not far away, turned to Gwen Spiderman and said, "Did you expect him to take a bunch of white teenagers with him? Don't be ridiculous."
"It's not like they'd pull out a gun..."
"Pull out a gun? You'd be lucky to see their butts if they run slow!"
"Okay, stop dangling," Shiller gently patted Peter's arm to get him to let go and then turned to Gwen Spiderman and said, "You'll have plenty of chances to meet them. We're arranging surveillance on the rap gathering spots for the next few days to prevent them from clashing with local mobs."
"I'll go!" Miles volunteered eagerly, sticking to the back of Shiller's chair, raising his hand and saying, "I'm black, I can handle it, I'll ensure their safety perfectly."
"No way, I'm going too!" another Spiderman ran over and said, "Mobs can be dangerous, you alone won't be enough."
"Then I have to go, even though I don't know what I'll be doing."
"I'm going! I'm going!"
In a matter of seconds, Shiller's chair back was covered in Spidermen, with some hanging upside down from the ceiling by their webbing, chattering back and forth. Combined with the cave's echo effect, it was instant chaos, and Bruce and Pamela were ready to leave the table.
Not because they couldn't stand the noise, but because they knew how much Shiller hated it.
But then Shiller turned and waved them off, saying, "Don't crowd around here, go back to eating."