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Watching the clear Dionysium being poured into the glass, Shiller felt somewhat flattered and surprised.
It wasn't that no one had ever invited him to drink, but this was Batman, and before you question whether this Batman was authentic, he was Batman! How many people had been invited to drink by Batman?!
This was an achievement on par with seeing Iron Man crying and hearing Spider Man cuss! Not even Arrogant had achieved these two!
Shiller coughed twice, curbed his excitement slightly, and clinked glasses with Batman. Batman winked at him and said, "So, in your opinion, how do we resolve this situation?"
"My ears are almost pricked up higher than a Doberman's, and here you are, all fancy words." Shiller chuckled to himself and said, "Actually, it's not that difficult, it's nothing compared to some extreme cases I've seen before."
"Let's hear it then," Batman said, sitting up even straighter.
"But before that, you have to tell me what you've been keeping from me." Shiller waved his hand and said, "This isn't a trade, but I need to know if my previous guesses about certain people's original families were accurate. It will help me judge the situation and propose solutions, that's not too much to ask, right?"
Batman's movements paused noticeably, and the hand swirling the glass stopped, too. He looked away as if reminiscing something, but soon shook his head and said, "Of course not, but I don't think you'll believe it, nobody does."
"Since you're aware that we are visitors from other cosmos, you should consider that in the myriad of cosmos, numerous strange things happen. How can you be so sure that what you're going to tell me is so strange that we wouldn't believe it?"
Batman opened his mouth, seemingly unable to organize a better rebuttal, so he simply said, "Then I have no choice but to reveal this huge secret to you."
Batman's tone was not one of smugness or guilt, but rather self-mockery, as if he had told this secret countless times to everyone, but no one believed him.
"Our ability to infinitely assemble our limbs does not come without a cost," Batman said. "The parts wear out, it's just that some Mysterious Power repairs our wear and tear, but this Mysterious Power is also limited."
Batman's expressive face, for once, displayed a seriousness and darkness similar to that of other Batmen as he said, "Every part of our body contains this Mysterious Power, the unused limbs have the most power, and the more they are repaired, the less power remains, until none is left."
"How many assemblies would it take to exhaust it?"
"Nobody knows," Batman shook his head and said, "No one has conducted such a cruel experiment, but there are indeed some unlucky ones who often get damaged and find they can't attach a part of their body anymore, proving that their internal Mysterious Power is almost depleted."
"So what now?"
"A group of people are looking for ways to replenish this Mysterious Power," Batman said, hands clasped under his chin. "They've found a method that allows the Mysterious Power to return to its origin, which can slow down the consumption of the power."
"Did your parents go to do this?"
Batman's hands clenched suddenly, he nodded and said evasively, "Yes, they are fighting for this cause."
"I mean, did they allow their own power to return to the origin?"
Finally, Batman couldn't hold back anymore. He grabbed the glass, poured the drink into his mouth in one go, and somehow choked, coughing violently several times.
"They had to do it, that's what they told me before they left. I can probably understand what's going on; if they were the ones who proposed this plan, then if they don't set an example, no one else will follow."
"Who are these other people?"
"The previous generation of superheroes," Batman said. "They seemed to have lived in a place called New York, but disappeared one after another the year my parents went missing."
"Sounds like a sad story."
"But their sacrifice was meaningful," Batman said. "The lack of Mysterious Power at the source is a very fatal issue, and it's not new, either. Thanks to the sacrifice of the previous generation of superheroes, this issue was delayed for decades, but it couldn't be postponed forever."
"So Barbara and Gordon are also implementing this plan, is it through recruiting volunteers?"
"It's not that ideal," Batman said. "Most people think we're alarmists, even the others in the Justice League feel the same; they think life can go on like this forever."
"That's why I feel very disappointed that I cannot unite them. My parents managed to, and now not only do they not believe me, they don't even need me. I don't know how I'm going to convince them when the crisis comes… I don't want to do this..."
"I understand you completely," Shiller said. "It seems my speculation was correct, your parents were also constantly immersed in this state of mind, wanting to save the world yet unable to let go of their old friends, exhibiting a sort of schizophrenic duality."
Batman nodded in agreement, "The two words I heard most often as a child were 'must' and 'don't want'. They had countless arguments about this, telling me some things they must do, and then saying some things they also didn't want to do. I couldn't understand what they meant."
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"They're also worried that you might one day find yourself entwined in the same dilemmas as they are, so they did their best to delay that time as much as possible," Shiller explained from another angle. He said, "At least their sacrifices were meaningful, because you are now a capable adult. Had the crisis come during your childhood, it would have been a completely helpless situation."
Batman nodded in agreement with this statement. He poured himself some more wine—though what was referred to as wine was actually grape juice, which Shiller had already tasted. As part of a family-friendly spin-off, real alcohol couldn't possibly appear in this cosmos, so Shiller didn't stop Batman from drinking more of it.
"You said you have a way to solve my current problems with interpersonal communication. If you really can do it, you can name your price for the therapy," Batman stated.
"It's a shame that the money from your cosmos is of no use to me; a little keepsake is enough, too much would be unnecessary," Shiller said, tapping his finger on the glass. He added, "But since you are Batman, your word is worth its weight in gold. If you promise to do me a favor in the future—"
"That's provided we have a future," Batman quickly agreed, saying, "If you can really solve this problem, even just a temporary delay, before I'm completely worn down and unable to be put back together, I'll do you a favor."
Shiller nodded, then continued, "Direct personality correction through psychotherapy is probably too late; that would require a quiet environment, medication, and long-term committed treatment."
"So we'll start with correcting behavior. I believe your willpower should hold. Over time, behavior can, in turn, correct the psyche."
"First, although my principle is if it's not painful, no treatment is needed, I have to consider that most patients who feel loneliness are reluctant to describe themselves as such, often avoiding the subject and insisting they're fine. So, I'll assume you're distressed by loneliness."
Batman instinctively moved his mouth, wanting to object, but Shiller efficiently blocked his rebuttal, continuing to say.
"First, in every three sentences you speak, make someone else the subject of two, not yourself. Don't emphasize your current state, but inquire about the state of others."
"For example," Shiller extended his hand and said, "after saying 'hello,' initiate by asking how the other person is. When someone begins to talk about how they are, you have to resist the impulse to bring the conversation back to yourself."
"A wrong example would be, if someone says they've not been feeling well recently, don't reply with saying you've also not been well and then start talking about yourself. Instead, persist in asking why they're not doing well, what challenges they've encountered."
"When they begin to describe their difficulties, don't launch into your own solutions or how you solved similar problems in the past unless they seriously ask for your advice. Just listen."
Batman covered his mouth with his glass, struck by how accurately Shiller's method for behavioral improvement targeted his habits. He was exactly this kind of person. Reflecting on all his past interactions with the Justice League members, conversations rarely went more than three sentences before the focus shifted to himself.
For instance, when Superman mentioned recent improvements to the Fortress of Solitude, Batman would immediately talk about recent changes he made to the layout of the Batcave. When Wonder Woman spoke of the mess on Mount Olympus, Batman would share his thoughts on mythology.
Thus, no conversation with him ever went deep; topics were brought up but never fully discussed because the participants' attempts were always cut short, and then it was time for Batman's monologues.
"I was just trying to offer them advice..." Batman muttered under his breath.
"The human race doesn't need advice or suggestions because humans never wholeheartedly accept them," Shiller stated. "Even if they do, they'll think of themselves as open to criticism and clear-headed, not that you were particularly intelligent or helpful to them."
Batman had no rebuttal.
"Secondly, when you talk about yourself, don't attribute everything to your own thoughts," Shiller said with a frown. "If you can't participate in something, say it's because someone else has hindered you, not because you don't want to go."
Batman was about to speak when Shiller interjected, "I know this amounts to lying, but humans need lies the most; they only listen to what they want to hear. They cannot understand or accept your true thoughts, even if they do hear them."
Batman pursed his lips and remained silent, evidently resonating deeply with the idea of being misunderstood.
Shiller's point had also been his experience. When Superman invited him to a party and he said he didn't want to go, the response was silence—a silence as if the other party couldn't find any excuses for him, as if they were under no obligation to make excuses.
"You may not care about the society behind you, but they do," Shiller continued. "You need to provide them with an explanation to deal with the questions from those around them. If you come up with your own excuses, others won't have to go to the trouble of doing it for you. They might do it once or twice, but people tire eventually."
Batman seemed to take this in, nodding his head.
Shiller sighed and carried on, "Third, when others bring you up in conversation, don't try to alter the image they've painted of you to anyone who has heard it. Don't bother explaining."
"Why not?" Batman asked. "Should I just let them slander me?"
"Humans will only believe what they want to believe. If they don't think you're a certain kind of person, no matter how many times they're told differently, it doesn't matter. Conversely, if they do believe you're a certain kind of person, all the explanations in the world won't change their minds."
"I know this is confusing for you," Shiller said, taking a sip of grape juice, "but any wise person understands that explanations and clarifications only exist on a moral level. As for specific individuals, removing prejudice is as hard as scaling the heavens."
"It's not wrong to be committed to uncovering the truth, but in social contexts, your eagerness becomes a knife in others' hands, ready to stab you. Once people learn what provokes you, an ordeal of fire and knives awaits you."
"To dominate in social situations, you must appear indifferent. Only then can you move seamlessly through any circumstance, victorious in every battle."