According to Shiller's explanation, those mob bosses had done too many guilty deeds, and he was simply giving them some friendly psychological counseling.
Why did they go insane? Perhaps what goes around comes around.
No one in Hell's Kitchen would believe his words. It's generally agreed among people living here that only the wicked will be rewarded.
None of the people born in Hell's Kitchen would feel guilty. To them, committing crimes is normal. The majority of people here are criminals. Can you expect someone who's been involved in arms dealing, drug trafficking, fights, extortion and gambling since their teens to have a conscience? How would such people feel guilty? So guilty that it would drive them insane?
Everyone who heard about this incident thought that Shiller was a Black Magician, capable of putting curses on people.
Shiller, of course, wouldn't bother to explain. The fear gas brought from DC was indeed quite useful. Even though it was only an initial version, it was still very effective against regular people without paranormal abilities.
Since he discovered his ability to carry objects with him through two worlds, he'd dreamed of taking down the boss.
Although the power systems of Marvel and DC are different, there are many things that can be traded between the two. And indeed plenty that can be used against enemies in both worlds.
For instance, if Shiller used fear gas in Gotham, once the news got out, and Jonathan saw the symptoms of those patients, he would definitely link it to his own fear gas.
Jonathan would not be able to know the situation in Marvel, and so, naturally Shiller wouldn't have to pay any copyright fees.
Since this terrifying rumor spread, almost no mobster has troubled Shiller.
Of course, the consequences of mingling with these criminals were that a superhero turned up on his doorstep.
On a slightly cold night in Manhattan, Shiller had just made a hot cup of coffee. He locked up the clinic, ready to end a day's idle work, get a good night's sleep and continue bothering Stark the next day.
Just as he set his coffee cup down on the table, he heard a clear sound at the door. Turning around, in the dim light, he saw a tall man in a red suit standing outside.
Shiller picked up his coffee cup, turned around and said, "You seem to be a bit late, Mr. Night Devil."
"Do you know me, Doctor?" the Night Devil asked.
"Of course, I know you, Night Devil. You're quite famous in Hell's Kitchen." replied Shiller.
"But you seem to be new around here." Night Devil pointed out.
"I'm more familiar with your other identity, the lawyer Matt."
Night Devil was evidently shocked, not knowing how Shiller had figured out his real identity.
Shiller didn't wait for him to ask and said, "You achieved impressive results at Columbia University and have had a smooth career progression. Not only have you become a reputable lawyer, it seems you've also opened your own law firm. Matt, can you tell me why you decided to become the Night Devil? Wasn't the sense of righteousness you got from being a lawyer enough?"
"Lawyers, righteousness…" Night Devil scoffed, "Maybe you think so. Yes, most people do. They think lawyers should fight for justice, defending the weak. But in reality..."
"In reality? Do you think lawyers shouldn't do this?"
"Of course, they should ..., I'm saying..."
"You think you can't do it as a lawyer? So, you want to try it some other way. But if you can't do it as a lawyer, do you really think you can do it while wearing a ridiculous tight suit and a mask?"
Night Devil angrily replied, "My decisions are none of your business!"
"Do you know? Your tone just now sounded very much like a rebellious teenage boy." Shiller said.
Night Devil only became aware, from the moment he came in, that he fell into Shiller's linguistic trap. The tempo of the conversation was always led by him, not only revealing his true identity but also touching on his inner sensitive points. He took a deep breath, calmed down and said, "I have to admit, you're a good psychiatrist who knows how to use tricks in conversations. But still, I have to ask, who the hell are you? What's your purpose in coming to Hell's Kitchen? And why are people going insane?"
"You have too many questions, and tonight, I can only answer one. It's apparent that I've worked all day and I'm rather tired. You can't disturb my rest; after all, I'm not a mob member, nor have I broken any laws." Shiller said.
"But you drove those mob members insane."
"You have no evidence."
"Only the police need evidence."
"Do you think you're above the police?"
"Stop going in circles with me," Night Devil said.
"If you listened carefully, you could figure out where I'm from and how I came to know your identity."
Night Devil felt a headache creeping up; he detested dealing with these cunning opponents, which meant he had to keep his focus sharp. Due to his emotional upheaval earlier, he couldn't recall his initial conversation with Shiller, and attempting to remember it now, his mind drew a blank.
But if he failed to answer, it would make him look foolish, so he remained silent.
"It seems you have forgotten our conversation just a minute ago. I'm clueless. How can a superhero have such a poor memory?" Shiller mocked.
Night Devil was inwardly irritated, vowing to remember every word Shiller said from then on.
"Two years ago, I taught at Columbia University. I came across the list of outstanding graduates, and your name, Matt, was on it. When filling out post-graduation destinations, you mentioned opening a law firm in Kansas state. Although I'm a psychology professor, I knew your former teacher, who affirmed in our conversations that you achieved your dream."
"Don't divert the topic, I want to know how you realized that Night Devil is Matt?"
"You might have forgotten, but when you started this journey, you wore the black and yellow attire used by your father during his matches. After arriving in Hell's Kitchen, I once went to watch underground boxing matches. Coincidentally, in what seems to be an attempt to save costs, the boss never changed the design of the boxers' costumes."
"I then understood that Night Devil likely originated here and must be associated with the underground boxing circuit. Upon investigation, I found out that the mob members you killed were all related to your father's death. Once your father's identity was discovered, it wasn't too hard to figure out yours."
"Why did you investigate me? Are you having a guilty conscience?" Matt asked.
"Nothing much, only if you plan to rent a house, you need to know who the landlord is and what he does, and it's better to get along with him."
"Well, I'm not the landlord here," Night Devil scoffed.
"Oh, really? It seems I got the wrong person, I should go find Kingpin. However, I think I've already made enemies, I vaguely remember one of the mob members who visited me mentioning that he works for Kingpin."
"Kingpin? Do you have information on Kingpin?"
"Sort of. Consider it as my rent payment to you, I heard one of his minions saying, their boss is getting very impatient with someone called Night Devil. He intends to hire someone to kill this annoying fly, so you better be careful."
Finally, Night Devil hurried back to his base.
It wasn't until he returned that he realized, all his intended objectives for the night had not been accomplished.
He hadn't figured out who Shiller was, nor warned him to behave, nor found out whether he was connected to the mob.
He didn't even know how he drove those people insane.
Matt shook his head, suddenly feeling that Shiller's analogy was accurate. He felt as if he had rented out his house to a tenant whose background was unclear, and this tenant had paid the rent ahead of time, leaving him no plausible way to forcibly evict him in the short term, only to let him come and go freely in Hell's Kitchen.