Gotham City, a still-hazy morning. Schiller stretches and sits up from the bed. He just settled in Marvel, and in just a few days of tranquility, he found the presence of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents near his psychological clinic.
Those people are like sticky candy that cannot be shaken off, at least for people without superpower. Even Stark ,the foremost billionaire in that world, is still annoyed by them without any solutions.
But Schiller doesn't have the same trouble. After being bothered by young Batman in Gotham, he can simply leave and hide in Marvel. Now that he is targeted by S.H.I.E.L.D., he can choose to transport and come to Gotham to hide.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents never discovers how Schiller disappeared. His departure leaves no trace. There are no train or plane tickets, and his figure is not seen at any road intersections. This further reinforces Nick Fury's belief that Schiller is not a mortal.
Back in DC, his colleague Jonathan, Scarecrow in the future, doesn't notice that the fear toxin has been stolen. Because Schiller isn't greedy, he only took a small test tube.
After all, he's not like Scarecrow, who needs fear gas to create terror attacks. He only needs it to deal with a few inferior gang members. He doesn't need high-tech devices to spray the gas. Just a small spray bottle, a spray near an average person's nose, and the concentrated fear toxin becomes the best weapon. After all, those gang members don't have Batman's reaction speed.
While researching this gas, although Schiller doesn't have a systematic knowledge of chemistry, he knows how to make best use of it. Besides using it as a weapon to spray at others, Schiller finds that this initial version of fear gas seems impure. It not only induces fear but also other negative emotions, which is great news for a psychologist. In the long run, if a patient is unwilling to confess their inner emotions, then the treatment cannot proceed.
Schiller realizes that he could use the diluted fear toxin as perfume and spray it on himself. Somehow, perhaps due to his system, this gas has no effect on him but can infect people close to him with a small amount of negative emotions.
Yes, Schiller plans to use this trick on Bruce, the inexperienced Batman.
The current Batman is not yet the late Batman who has countless plan-B. Bruce is still young, having just traveled the world and mastered his skills, he is eager to start his revenge plan. He puts on the initial version of the Bat suit, grabs the bat darts, and wants to fight against criminals. In his eyes, throwing a few hundred million to create equipment is a simple matter. But he hasn't realized that what truly makes him Batman is not what he wears, but the spirit deep within him.
Clearly, Batman's path of growth still has a long way to go. And for the sake of his own safety and a stable life in Gotham, Schiller has to take on the role of the young Bruce's mental mentor.
Another flat morning, for Bruce, meeting Schiller in the night rain is just something that happened last night. Schiller calling him by his real name doesn't surprise Bruce; he knows this person must have something extraordinary about him.
Perhaps it's superpowers or magic, on his journey around the world, he has encountered many such people. He also knows that this world is far from as simple as ordinary people imagine, many incredible forces are watching over it.
Bruce knocks on the door of the counseling room again, and a steady voice from inside says, "Come in."
For some reason, Bruce feels a sense of relief, because the response is very quick. It's clear that the person inside knows who he is and is willing to let him in.
Batman hates all mystery and existentialism, and so does Bruce. From his perspective, Schiller's attitude means that perhaps he will tell Bruce what's going on instead of continuing to deflect and hide, using tricks to evade the truth by words.
Bruce sits across from Schiller again and goes straight to the point, "Professor, it seems you're in a good mood today."
"Mr. Wayne, it seems your mood is not so good today," Schiller says, "I thought you would come in and pour me a cup of coffee, as you did on the first day."
He spreads his hands, indicating the empty desk, "You see, this morning I purposely didn't make coffee and waited for you."
Bruce remains silent for a moment but still gets up to make a cup of coffee for Schiller.
Schiller actually finds it interesting to be able to drink coffee brewed by Batman himself. But Bruce believes this is a test or a technique of mental interference, using words to make the other have no choice but to obey his command. Well, thinking this way, it might be more in line with the profile of Schiller, a crazy doctor obsessed with psychology and psychiatry.
Schiller takes a sip of hot coffee, dispelling the chill that has spread throughout his body due to the weather. Bruce speaks first:
"Why were you there last night?"
"I do not understand what you mean."
"If you wanted to hide, you should have worn a mask last night instead of denying it after I saw your face."
Schiller puts down his coffee cup, making a crisp sound on the table, and states, "I'm not denying that you saw me last night. I'm asking you why you, with billions of dollars of wealth, don't donate to charities and foundations instead of wearing a ridiculous tide, fighting thugs on the streets of Gotham in the pouring rain."
Faced with this question, Bruce falls silent.
"This isn't a question..." Schiller adds, "You don't need to think about how to answer because I will answer for you."
"Because your ultimate goal is not to save, but to revenge."
"That's your answer." Bruce interrupts.
"No, I just see the answer in your heart." Schiller replies.
"I don't think there's mind-reading in this world."
"Of course, there's no such thing in this world. It's just that some people are not aware of how their strong desires can be reflected by their actions. People always think they hide their true selves well, but in reality, it's not the case."
"Can I learn this ability?" Bruce questions, "The ability to see into people's hearts."
"And use it to seek revenge against criminals?" Schiller blows up s spot, "Clearly, you have oversimplified everything. Bruce, maybe your motivation is revenge, but if you make it the driving force behind everything you do, it will end up like last night."
Schiller makes a gesture of falling down, and Bruce continues to defend himself:
"Last night, when I returned, I added a cape to my bat armor. I also planned to design a belt..."
"You know those things are not the key. You can give yourself an iron fist with the strength of thousands of kilograms in your hand, or boots that can propel you to the moon with a single leap. You can even design wings that allow you to fly to any planet in the solar system. You can do all these, Bruce. I believe you can."
"But these are not enough, far from it."
"If I had that kind of power, I could eliminate all the criminals in the world, right?" Bruce asks.
Schiller sighs. Obviously, the Batman who hasn't encountered the Joker yet can't imagine how a weaponless criminal, a mediocre person who only knew a little acrobatics and martial arts, thin and weak, could defeat a superhero who mastered hundreds of combat techniques and possessed all kinds of abilities from around the world.
Schiller feels that no matter how he guides the current Bruce, the future Batman, he could only be considered a associate professor in Batman's life. The one who truly teaches Batman everything is his arch-nemesis, the Joker.
And now, the Joker should still be living a common life in a circus.
Bruce is still arrogant. He makes a request to learn psychology from Schiller because he has learned various skills from all over the world in this way. His modesty and pride are not contradictory.
Schiller says, "As I said before, of course, you can learn psychology. Everything is in the textbooks. You can also come to my classes, study, do homework, write papers, and take exams. I am a professor, and I won't stop any student from learning."
"You know that's not what I want to learn..."
"Then what exactly do you think there is?"
"That... special ability of yours." Bruce gestures, "I've seen many people like that in various parts of the world, people who have special abilities that others not..."
"No, I'm a moral. I don't have any extraordinary abilities beyond ordinary people."
Bruce ponders for a moment and purses his lips, obviously not believing it. But Schiller really has nothing else to explain to him. The young Batman is obviously still too immature. He is too straightforward, impulsive, and doesn't consider the consequences.
And he loses his patience. The failure setbacks in his superhero career further fuels his impatience. He obviously believes that if he could learn abilities similar to mind-reading from Schiller, dealing with criminals will be easier, rather than being pushed downstairs by a few gang members and landing in a sorry state.
He hasn't figured out what exactly caused his failure.
Bruce leaves Schiller once again empty-handed. Schiller simply tells him, even in a somewhat threatening tone, that he should study well, complete all the courses, and get good grades in the final exams.
But it seems that Bruce doesn't listen to a word.
In the evening, Schiller goes out again. He comes to Jonathan's secret base and steals a considerable amount of fear toxin. This time, Jonathan except he is a complete fool, and he should be able to tell that half of his rows of test tubes are missing.
Schiller has no expertise in chemistry, so he can't make any improvements or modifications to this special gas. The only thing he can do is to put them in different containers or dilute them.
But an idea hits his mind, and that is to use this fear gas to scare the Batman.
Soon, Schiller appears in the Morrison District again. He knows that Batman will come here again. Bruce is such a person, once he fell somewhere, he must get up there, never willing to change places. It is his pride.
The Morrison District is not big, with only six alleys. The building where Bruce fell happens to be the first alley in the Morrison District, where there is a nightclub controlled by the Ditch Gang.
The Ditch Gang is just a small potato in Gotham. Because there is a Swear ditch next to the Morrison District, the Ditch Gang likes to throw some unfortunate victims into the ditch, making it increasingly foul. Therefore, other gangs start to use the swear as a symbol for it. The Ditch Gang is quite proud of this and found it amusing.
The first enemy Batman defeated is clearly not a famous villain. They are just a group of small thugs smoking on the top floor of the nightclub, and Batman used his combat skills to take out most of them. However, lacking experience in practice, he was sprayed with lime in his eyes and stumbled down the building.
The early Batman doesn't have any assistants, and his equipment is not yet mature, so it is not surprising that he sunk himself.However, the Ditch Gang doesn't have such good luck again. Schiller leans against the wall at the end of the Morrison District for a while and hears terrified screams coming from the nightclub. Soon, the night becomes quiet, and an inconspicuous small gang disappears from Gotham.
Batman emerges, and he seems to be in much better shape than last time. He lowers his head, seemingly still figuring out how to modify his Batman equipment.
Suddenly, he recalls something and walks forward, turning into a corner. He wants to find the beggar again and give more money, telling the beggar that the Ditch Gang has been taken care of and he won't be in danger anymore.
He finds the beggar in the same spot as before. The beggar is still tightly wrapped in a blanket, shivering in the wet and cold air of Gotham night. The umbrella Schiller has given him is nowhere to be seen.
Batman hands the money to him and speaks in a deep voice, "There are no more gangs in this neighborhood. You are safe now."
The beggar looks up, but Batman doesn't see any gratitude in those eyes. He couldn't believe that, in the beggar's gaze, there is only hatred swirling.
"Don't you feel happy?" Batman asks.
"Of course he not," a familiar voice comes from above Batman's head. Schiller stands on the balcony of the building, overlooking Batman from the second floor.
"Because of the Ditch Gang's presence, the nightclub had a steady stream of customers every day. Some of them would hold onto their food.And when they had only a little left, they would casually throw it on the street. That way, the beggars could pick it up and continue to eat."
"But now, without the Ditch Gang, the nightclub can't exist anymore. Without customers, it also means no more food."
"But a few hundred dollars would be enough for him..."
"Yes, you have the best medical system in Gotham, private doctors, and a family health consultant. You have never experienced the feeling of having a cold or fever a few times, let alone understand what it feels like to freeze and be unable to stand up."
"In your imagination, he could just take a few hundred dollars to the nearest supermarket and buy enough essential supplies. Maybe he could even find a hotel to stay for a few nights and then treat the illnesses on his body..." Schiller drags a long tone, then states:
"But unfortunately, he can't even take the first step."
Batman squats down, he moves the blanket near the beggar's feet and finds that his entire lower limbs has turned purple from the cold. Gotham has experienced several days of rain, and his legs has soaked in water, causing severe swelling.
Batman is knowledgeable about surgical theory. He knows that even in the best hospital in Gotham, such lower limbs could only be amputated.
He falls completely silent, looking at the bills disperse on the ground, not held in the beggar's hands. He feels an incredible absurdity, be choked by the shame.
He suddenly senses that many negative emotions are devouring his heart uncontrollably, making him want to roar. Batman feels that he has never been so out of control before tonight. He stands up, takes a few unsteady steps back, and then sits down on the ground.