Bruce never expected that this particular internship could deviate so far from the plan.
Of all the things churning his guts, it was mostly his psychology Professor Shiller.
This professor seemed like no newcomer to Gotham, instead, it felt as though he had lived here his whole life. In fact, it seemed most locals wouldn't be able to compete with him on that front.
With a speed that caught Bruce off guard, Shiller had ruthlessly dissected the city's rules. Not only had he understood them, he had become a master of them.
Gordon once told Bruce that Gotham was like quicksand. Anyone who steps into it would slowly drown.
Yet, Shiller, the professor who claimed to be an ordinary man, plunged into the quagmire without hesitation right before Bruce's eyes. Far from being absorbed, he dived right in and showed no signs of wanting to extract himself.
He transformed from a regular man into a 'worst of the worst' sort of scum. He displayed an alarming breadth of knowledge, from the configuration and geography benefits of gang members, to the standard protection fees of bars and restaurants, to odds in underground gambling dens, and even up to the rules of large-scale contraband trade, munitions transport, and smuggler's routes. There was nothing this professor didn't know.
His suggestions were so compelling that Falcone nodded along. He even praised Shiller, saying he was a natural at this and, had he arrived in Gotham thirty years earlier, the Twelve Families would have made room for a Rodriguez.
All this gave Bruce a complex impression of Shiller.
It was hard to call what the professor was doing a good thing. His methods were murky at best and, at worst, complicit.
Yet, if you think he was doing something evil, but he was undoubtedly leveraging his skills to modify the existing situation in Gotham. His methods were outrageous, but they were also driving the situation in a direction he wanted.
Furthermore, Bruce found it disturbing that this change, in his eyes, was not for the worse. On the contrary, it was precariously but steadily leaning towards a new, better order.
Especially when Bruce received news from Gordon that crime rates in Gotham had noticeably dropped in recent weeks, it almost seemed absurd.
Under the industrial chain that Shiller created, the capability of the police was greatly enhanced because they were in cahoots with Falcone, the biggest mob in Gotham.
The Chief of Police was directly supported by Falcone. The Godfather provided them with plenty of heavy weaponry and their intimidation deters others.
Now, they can arrive at the scene of a gang firefight within 10 minutes. They quickly hunker down both sides, arrest them all, and toss them into the mental hospital.
Unlike before, the police are more excited about their work. Opportunities for fieldwork are fiercely fought over, and they can get a 2% cut of all fees paid to the mental hospital by admitted mobsters.
Gordon has been insanely busy these days. Even the men who've been 'desk jockeys' forever have been clamoring to be put in the front line to maintain justice and fight the mob.
Lately, Gordon, a man of integrity, has been so confused. Clearly, assaulting the mob this effectively should be good, but he always felt like there was something off about it.
However, this action has not only curtailed the mob's arrogance, but the lives of the police have also improved markedly. They've begun to love this damned job.
Lately, Gordon has been shocked to discover that people at the police office are staying after hours for overtime. What devil has taken control of them?
Indeed, it was the demon of greed. When you're armed to the teeth, your heart steady, and you're ordering the mob to cease fire with a heavy machine gun in hand, the job seems alright. If you can get substantial pay from doing so, you'd think it was the best job in the world.
At first, Falcone's goons needed to agitate the relationships between certain mobs to trigger a firefight.
But later, fights broke out on their own. The 'Hyenas' and the 'Captains' launched a counterattack against the 'Pickpockets' beyond their streets. Those on the fringes of the East District, 'Loco', quickly joined the fight. The Four Giants on Elizabeth Street wanted to help, and Maroni, who had just finished leveraging the Red Crow Gang, stirred the pot. The whole East District was in chaos.
The gang fights had, by then, killed quite a few people. But just as they were going at it, the police charged in with machine guns and rocket launchers, dumbfounding the mobsters. Who were the real mobsters? What kind of cop uses a rocket launcher?!
That was it. Gang members died from the gunfire. Some were arrested by the police. The toughest mobs in the East District were severely damaged. The remnants were too scared to step out and retreated to their bases to lick their wounds.
The task force led by Gordon became famous after that battle. All of Gotham knew about the police's brutal tactics: they would crash into the scene in an armored pick-up, then lay down suppressive fire with machine guns behind riot shields, followed by precision shots from RPGs, then advance while mopping up with grenades.
Those mobs that were most eager to cause trouble were now subdued. Who would dare provoke them?
Although most of it was due to honoring Falcone's charisma, as the Godfather was willing to fully support the police, that justified anything they did. Any regular mob wouldn't dare provoke the Godfather at such heavy costs. The ones who were willing to do so had already been crippled by the sudden storm of assault, and Gotham strangely fell silent.
All of this was because some ordinary professor had an inspired moment one ordinary morning.
Bruce thought, this professor became the black sheep among the black sheep. The other black sheep saw him as complicit, but the friend of my enemy became the virtuous new friend.
Bruce really had no idea how to appraise such actions.
Of course, Batman is a genius. After his initial turmoil, he felt he saw a new possibility in Shiller's behavior.
Batman had always felt that fighting criminals should be swift, accurate, and ruthless. Even if you're butchering a chicken, do it with a butcher's knife, so as to root out evil and prevent its resurgence.
But Shiller didn't employ such a method. Whenever he strived to dismantle a power, he not only refrained from eradicating it completely, but sometimes even gave it more support, allowing it to thrive once more. Then he used these revitalized powers as a wedge to dismantle another tangled group.
Upon seeing these actions by Shiller, Bruce once again asked him the same question. Bruce said, "Are you truly just an ordinary person? Or is there some unknown supernatural power that enables you to accomplish all of this?"
Shiller sat in his office, spinning the ballpoint pen in his hand. Then with a tap of the desk, he signaled for Bruce to sit and said, "When I tell you I'm an average person, the answer's emphasis is not if I have some magical abilities that ordinary people don't."
"Rather, what I want to impart is that the most astounding power of humanity is their thinking brain."
Shiller stood up and walked to the window. The white coat of a practitioner draped over his figure made him appear even more upright. Compared to that stern professorial figure back in school, Dr. Shiller seemed more tranquil and mellow.
He said, "The answer to this query doesn't lie in whether I am a regular guy. It lies in, just as I have advised you before, your state-of-the-art armor and pricey gears do not make you the true Batman."
"Because the answers to those questions troubling you do not lie in these external items."
"They lie in the brain - something every ordinary person possesses."
"Actually, if you take a moment to ponder, you'll realize that sheer violence cannot achieve any of your desires, whether it be revenge or saving this city. It is a road that inevitably leads to a dead end."
Shiller played with the ballpoint pen in his hand, then said, "In fact, the path you've chosen is a dead end. So, if you want to survive, you must find a path to life amid countless dead ends."
"I merely demonstrated one possibility to you, but it's not the entirety, it's not..."
Bruce said, "Isn't it enough? Power, wisdom, resolve, aren't they enough?"
Shiller said, "There's also Gotham."
"When will I master Gotham?"
"Perhaps when you die."
Before Bruce could reply, Shiller said, "Gotham is a book that you can never finish reading."
"I'm just a professor, and just as I do in my classes, I have highlighted the keypoints for you. Yet the final answer you need to answer yourself."
Bruce asked, "Are the keypoints power and balance? Or is it the power of wisdom? Or perhaps foresight and reflection?"
"No, just as I do in class - the entire book is the keypoint."
Bruce was speechless, unsure whether Shiller was criticizing him for not paying enough attention in class or subtly hinting at something else.
However, Shiller's answer made him realize one thing.
If using violence to combat the criminality of this sin-city is futile, and Batman, with all his physical and financial strength, is still unable to fill this quagmire with raw and crude means, perhaps it would be better to abandon pure violence and, utilizing his other talent - intelligence - manipulate it all from behind the scenes.
This city, brimming with violence, ironically cannot solve its problems through violence. Formidable force is merely his foot in the door, and definitely not the whole picture.
After opening the door with his vast wealth and equipment, he encountered Shiller, his mentor. Shiller showed Batman a fresh perspective of Gotham.
A Gotham stripped from surface-level violence, bloodshed, and combats - a Gotham teeming with numerous intricacies and complex relationships.
When Batman traced along the intricate network within the cherubic tree crown to its deeply rooted origins, when he slid down the crevices of an iceberg to hit the icy water beneath, he finally saw the true face of Gotham.
This is a new world, Batman thought.
But for him, this wasn't a setback or hit - it was a dose of adrenaline.
His mind had never raced as quickly as it did today. He never thought he had the ability to process and clear up these intricate relationships so swiftly, to keep up with every move of Shiller's.
The thrill of unearthing grand root systems along minute threads fascinated Batman. He felt a stronger exhilaration and joy than when he pounded criminals with his fists.
Bruce thought, perhaps, this is the right answer.
Perhaps he is such a man that even when facing complex problems that would put anyone else in despair, he is excited, like a madman.
This is him. This is the bat. This is the bat, a being that is obsessed and relishes in the thrill of mental ecstasy, more insane than any madman.