Batman walked into the gates of Wayne Manor.
This Wayne Manor was bizarrely located on a towering solitary island. Other than Wayne Manor at the very top and a bunch of winding roads, there was nothing else on the entire island.
While walking up the road, Shiller said, "I bet Batman must be really confused right now."
"Confused about what?"
"Confused about why the Batman of this universe would situate his home on such a place. How confident must he be about the continental shelf beneath this island to believe that no disaster would turn Wayne Manor into the next Atlantis?"
"I think the scenery is rather nice here." Tim said, looking at the sunset over the distant sea, "And it's extremely peaceful, like a secluded paradise."
"That's exactly the problem. No Batman would want to live in a secluded paradise," Shiller stated. "Get ready. My occupational hazard is about to kick in."
Deadpool handed him a soda and said, "I've heard much about you from our universe's Spider Man. He shared some shockingly surprising thoughts about you, which almost amounted to a complaint for him."
"It's an honor," Shiller said with a smile.
"Actually, I don't think if someone wants to escape from the world it means they are running from reality, since 'reality' encompasses too broad a scope. It likely also includes many things they are still fond of; it's just that their distaste for certain aspects overwhelms their fondness, so they wish to flee," he explained.
"So what do you think this Batman is fond of? And what is he avoiding?" Tim asked thoughtfully.
"Many people struggle to clarify this question, and I guess Batman is no different. He might have concocted countless excuses for himself for building his home here like... safety..."
"But in reality, it's not safe at all." Tim spread his hands and said, "Anyone with an IQ over 80 knows that eradicating or destroying a solitary island in the sea would cost very little, and the sea would bear all the consequences."
"Or maybe the beautiful scenery..."
"Doesn't compensate for a three-hour daily commute," Deadpool said. "Although I haven't had much to do with Batman, I bet he wouldn't like a half-hour flight if he could just step outside his door and be at the Gotham Police Department."
"Or perhaps the quiet atmosphere..."
Shiller contradicted himself, "To Batman, there's never a quiet atmosphere; he's always swamped. Just the ringing phones and the flashing Bat Light would shatter any tranquility completely."
"Then what might be the true reason he himself hasn't even realized?"
"Have you noticed the biggest difference in this universe?"
"What?" Tim looked at Shiller with some confusion.
"In this universe, there are only Minifigures. They don't bleed, they don't get hurt. Even if they get disassembled into pieces, you just put them together randomly, and off they go. It doesn't even have to be their own parts." Shiller looked down at his hands as he spoke.
Tim seemed to grasp something but still didn't catch the key point. This was a novel thought process for him, as he was not one of those detectives skilled in mind-reading but rather focused on finding evidence and speaking with facts. That's why he was always at the crime scenes, not in the interrogation rooms.
He was aware that this was also one of his weaknesses; his lack of experience in dealing with people. But his universe's Bruce had said that everyone went through this, and it would get better as he grew up.
Tim also didn't know how old he would have to be to understand people as effortlessly as Batman did, always able to approach each person in the most fitting manner—becoming the worst nightmare for criminals and the most benevolent father for children.
Maybe that day would never come, because Batman was just Batman, and his Robins were all different and never lived to become another Batman. They revered him, but it was the reverence one would have for a father, not the worship one would offer to God.
But Tim was a curious person, and he felt that exploring another aspect of the world wasn't a bad thing. So, he quietly listened to Shiller speak.
"What would a world without the existence of death be like? It may be inconceivable to us, but for everyone in this Lego World, death simply doesn't exist."
"Not just death, but also the painful bleeding and injuries don't exist either. Despite being made of plastic, this place is truly a Heaven."
"So what exactly is Batman saving here?"
Suddenly Tim felt a kinship; he sensed a void bursting from his chest. He shook his head and said, "But even if there are no injuries or harm causing chaos, at least it'll still delay the traffic..."
"Do you think Batman wanted to be a traffic cop?"
Tim shook his head again as Shiller plucked a flower from the garden beside the winding road and began studying the construction of Lego pieces before speaking, "Although every Batman's efforts and rewards are disproportionate, the Batman of this cosmos receives particularly insufficient feedback."
"You must think, if he is a real hero, he would be happy to see a world without bloodshed and death, but we must view it from the perspective of the Batman from this cosmos, for him, the world has always been this way since his birth."
"That is to say, he doesn't even know there is such a thing as bloodshed and death in the world, he doesn't know that there are people in another world made of flesh, who would scream in despair with just a little cutting or squeezing."
Tim shivered. He unconsciously moved away from Shiller. Although these words made sense, the way they came out of his mouth always gave the impression that he had a lot of experience with cutting or squeezing.
It reminded Tim of his dentist describing the process of treating cavities while advising them not to eat too many sweet buns, which was the scariest story he had ever heard.
"So in this Batman's worldview, what he does is spend half of his life honing himself to become an unparalleled expert, and end up dealing with scattered Lego pieces and solving traffic issues," Shiller said.
Tim sighed softly and said, "There are many cruel things in this world, but if I must name the one I fear the most, it would probably be misalignment."
Shiller looked at him with a probing gaze, and Tim shook his head saying, "I have never spoken these words to Batman because I fear he would worry about me, but in reality, I always feel that the relationship between him and I, between us, shouldn't be this way."
"What kind of relationship?"
"Harmonious," Tim found the word, then continued, "Because I've realized, if Batman had such a past, such experiences, he could hardly be the person I see, which doesn't follow certain rules."
"Psychological rules?"
"Maybe so, I don't really understand, it's just my own opinion," Tim said, "I feel something makes him act that way, and us act this way, and so everything has become what it is now, but in reality, things are not so simple."
"The Batman from this cosmos also gives me the same feeling. Hasn't he ever realized, in the first 40 years of his life, that saving such a world actually did not require so much from him? Of course not, he is not that kind of fool."
"But he still did it, putting all his stakes in, chasing relentlessly, vowing to be a hero who surpasses evil, only to find that there was no one ahead at the finish line, which is obviously not normal."
"What's abnormal about that?" Deadpool said, "Someone wrote a story, set up a character, and then pushed this character into every cosmos, without considering whether the environment of that cosmos could indeed develop such a character. It's essentially someone taking a shortcut."
"What is your Gotham in that cosmos like?" Shiller asked Tim.
"Dark, chaotic, with endless lunatics and criminals," Tim sighed, "I know most Gothams are like that. Others in different cosmos have told me."
"It was then that I knew something was abnormal because I always feel that the Batman from the other Tims' tales could handle such a Gotham, whereas my foster father... I don't know where his optimism comes from, probably he's exceptionally gifted."
"Don't think too much," Shiller said with a smile, "You might just assume that in your absence, he is as cold as other Batmen. He is gentle with you only because he has given all his tenderness to you."
Deadpool glanced at Shiller, but eventually said nothing, watching Tim's face light up again, he could only think to himself, "Silly boy."
"I think so too," Tim laughed, "The atmosphere in the Batman Family is always great because Batman has set a good example for us, not just being gentle with us but making us feel his real presence among us."
"He sets various tasks for us, but Cassandra always fools him, leading him to fail and feel depressed, he compares himself with others, hiring an ice cream truck at a high price when he forgets to bring desserts to our gatherings, just to win the 'who is the best elder' contest."
"He always feels that Alfred is too controlling yet he has inherited the nagging trait from the old butler; he isn't bad at cooking, just too good at multitasking, always forgetting that one must not leave the stove unattended, which led to us changing stoves 26 times in a year."
"There's more to such incidents, but I have never heard from the others, I always feel like we are heading towards two extremes, the Batman of their cosmos lacks life details, while ours lacks big ambitions."
"Later, I also thought it would be great if these two aspects could be fused together but like you said, if our Batman faced a different scenario, maybe he wouldn't be like what he is now, and if the Batman of another cosmos faced us, maybe he'd be like our father, real and endearing."
"Things in this world are always like that," Deadpool said, slinging a long sword over his shoulder, hands resting on both sides of the blade, "A person becomes the individual they are now through encountering the world, and the world transforms into what it is through encountering people."
"It's like feeling that the pleasant life now is stolen," Shiller looked at Tim and said, "feeling that the more destitute plight of others is what one truly deserves, thinking oneself the anomaly, hence filled with fear of misalignment."
"Are you talking about this Batman?" Tim averted his eyes and said, "I think it makes a lot of sense, you are indeed a good doctor."
"My honor."