Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

"The Night Owl snuck into the Magic Forest and found traces of certain people's activities there. I guess these traces might have been set up by the director group. According to the plot of the first movie, these should be the activities of the main villain, Saphire. The secret room we're using now is also set to be Saphire's stronghold."

"What do you plan to do?" Arkham Batman turned to look at the Primary Universe Batman and asked.

"What did we do when we found slime on Shiller?"

"You mean, he'll go to the library to look up information."

"Even if he's not Bruce Wayne, he's still Batman. Every Batman will trust theoretical, paper-based data more. These things can only be found in the library."

"But that book..." Arkham Batman said awkwardly, "It's okay to fool the uninformed movie audience. But anyone with higher education or research experience will find it to be nonsense, not in line with the current level of magic development in this universe."

"So we won't use that book," Primary Universe Batman said, "We'll make a more realistic, logically consistent one."

"Are you saying you want to compile a compendium?" Big Adventure Batman exclaimed, "But, the Night Owl should be going to the library soon. Even if we write non-stop, we won't make it in time, right?"

"That's why we need to split up. One team will create some trouble for him so he doesn't have time to go to the library; the other team will start compiling the magic compendium. And, don't forget, we know magic. The essence of magic is making your will a reality."

Primary Universe Batman picked up another magic wand, then took Saphire's notebook. He laid the notebook flat and pointed the wand at a blank spot. A line of text quickly appeared.

"Wow," Big Adventure Batman marveled, "That's much faster than writing yourself. Can it draw pictures?"

Primary Universe Batman paused. He concentrated, and a vivid painting appeared in the notebook. Then he infused it with some magic power, making the images move.

"Perfect. I can't think of anything that could fool that guy," Arkham Batman said, "Then you take care of compiling, and I'll go create some trouble for him."

"Don't use force," Primary Universe Batman said, "While beating him up and letting him lie in the school hospital for ten days or half a month is the most effective way to buy time, Shiller is the most unstable factor in all our plans. If possible, it's best not to let them come into contact."

"Then I'll have to distract him... I've got an idea." Arkham Batman said.

The group discussed for a while before returning to the dormitory. After returning, Primary Universe Batman and Arkham Batman didn't rest immediately; Primary Universe Batman stared out the window for a while, looking towards the direction of the Magic Forest.

The next morning, Shiller was again woken up by Arkham Batman. Opening the door, he looked helplessly at the tall figure standing at the door and said, "What now? Who got hurt again?"

"Nobody, Doctor. I just don't want to attend this morning's Magic History class, so I came here to hide."

"Batman skipping class..." Shiller couldn't help but say.

"I don't know about others, but I do," Arkham Batman entered the office and said, "Can I borrow the study room?"

"You really don't treat yourself as an outsider."

"Outsiders don't pay your bills."

Shiller sighed and led him to the private guest room on the second floor and said, "You better not be planning any dangerous experiments here. Otherwise, you'll find out that the last bill didn't reflect my true capabilities."

"Don't worry, Doctor."

After Arkham Batman went in, Shiller didn't bother him. The Batman from the Arkham Knight Universe is both dangerous and safe. He's straightforward, ruthless to enemies, but honest with friends. He won't agree to do something he can't do, and is generally reliable most of the time.

Shiller truly started memorizing lines today. He was in the office's ground floor, carefully reviewing the script. Although his memory wasn't a problem, sometimes the information just wouldn't sink in.

Especially since this film had lots of internal monologue scenes with long dialogues. Shiller was starting to regret participating in the movie.

This morning, it was a joint class between Neptune Academy and Mercury College. The Night Owl noticed keenly that both Arkham Batman and Primary Universe Batman were absent. And it wasn't the first time they skipped class, which was really suspicious.

It's not surprising for Batman to skip class, but the key point is what they do after skipping class?

Night Owl deeply understood the prowess of these two: setting up a production line in ten minutes, arming an arsenal in half an hour, conquering the Atlantic in an hour, taking off to the Moon in half a day. They had missed almost seven hours of classes; could it be that they would turn up again already transformed into the Supreme Magician?!

The more Night Owl thought about it, the more something felt off. He always felt that these two were secretly competing behind his back. And since he wasn't interested in those mythical stories, he snuck out with the excuse of going to the bathroom halfway through the class.

The magic school was not just filled with students from their grade, but also numerous mages from Kamar-Taj. Night Owl arrived at the entrance of the Neptune Academy lounge and managed to inquire about the whereabouts of the two after asking several people.

The Primary Universe Batman, of course, had gone to the library. Night Owl wasn't surprised at all. This guy must have been secretly making up for missed lessons, using the trash time spent on listening to mythological stories to study magic theory. Although Night Owl feared he might learn too quickly, he also knew that magic isn't a subject that can be improved just by book cramming.

It was Arkham Batman's whereabouts that concerned him more. Night Owl learned from the students at Haven Star Academy that Arkham Batman had been frequently visiting the school hospital these days.

This was very strange. Although fights were frequent lately, no one had injured Arkham Batman. He mostly took on multiple opponents and pinned others down. Last time, the Supreme Magician came to break up a fight and almost got punched by him. Though he had injured his arm before, such a minor injury shouldn't warrant a hospital stay, right?

There's definitely something fishy about this. Arkham Batman was definitely not there for recuperation. Night Owl felt sure of his guess. However, what in the school hospital could be worth his frequent visits?

Night Owl had previously visited the school hospital and hadn't noticed anything special. If anything, it was the school doctor who was quite unusual. Shiller's renowned reputation was something he had heard of.

Wait a minute. Although Shiller wasn't Batman, having such a reputation in the Battleworld indicated he was very powerful. If he could win over those Evil Supermen, then Arkham Batman winning over Shiller wasn't entirely impossible either.

This thought made Night Owl a bit restless. Superman indeed was powerful, a ruthless Evil Superman even more so like a sharp blade. Yet Superman's strength was clear-cut, whereas Shiller was an enigma to him.

Nigh Owl had only encountered Shiller a few times, among which the impressionable one was as an agent. Though the agent was skilled and efficient, he didn't seem proportional to the rumored extent. The other Shillers also appeared unremarkable. So why did so many people regard him as the top behind-the-scenes manipulator in Battleworld?

Everything about Shiller was shrouded in a layer of mist, unclear and indiscernible. Yet Night Owl's instincts told him that this guy was not simple and should definitely not be on his team.

Of course, having previously conspired with Mad Laugh, he must have already offended the agent. But this was just like with Batman, where counterparts from different universes vary between good and evil, and their stances may not be entirely the same. Offending one didn't mean another couldn't be won over.

With this thought, Night Owl hurried towards the school hospital. He couldn't let Arkham Batman beat him to it. Even if he couldn't win Shiller over, he couldn't let him succeed!

As he walked on the path, Night Owl couldn't help pondering. His battle of good versus evil with Primary Universe Batman never had a retreat route. It wasn't that he wanted to duel with Primary Universe Batman, but that these Just Batmen couldn't tolerate evil's existence.

Even though Night Owl had hidden his Origin Universe, the Batmen would eventually find out about him killing his parents and brother. Even if his parents were corrupt and deserved their fate, his brother Little Bruce was indeed innocent. So many innocent people had died at his hands through the years. Just this fact meant there could be no reconciliation between them.

Since there was no retreat, he must go all out. And this struggle was a zero-sum game. If the opposing side gained any stronger support, he would lack a powerful ally and face greater pressure.

Although currently, their conflict was limited to the Batman Group, at most spreading to the Justice League, it could well be imagined that a grand battle between good and evil in Battleworld will soon erupt.

What deeply concerned Night Owl was that the division between good and evil wasn't as simple as it appeared. Take for instance, even though the Joker seemed evil, the Joker from the Prime Universe might not really stand by his side against their universe's Batman, and might even side with Primary Universe Batman at critical moments.

The resources he initially invested in Mad Laugh had already gone down the drain. Even if it had cost Primary Universe Batman some time, he still hadn't gained any advantage. Every step from here had to be cautious enough, with the slightest deviation leading to unimaginable consequences.

With a heavy heart, Night Owl knocked on Shiller's office door. Shiller quickly locked the script in the drawer. Having signed a confidentiality agreement, he certainly didn't want to lose money.

Chris had great trust in Shiller, giving him a complete script, not only containing his lines but also others'. If leaked online, it would create a huge uproar, perhaps beyond even JARVIS's ability to contain. The compensation due would be astronomical, and if it affected the sequel's box office, there would be no explaining to anyone.

Shiller was concerned about the script's security, but in Night Owl's eyes, this expression turned into him breaking into a conspiracy between Shiller and Arkham Batman, hence Shiller's tension.

Shiller, although not a professor, was still a school doctor managing such a large hospital. It would be too easy to trip them up. With this thought, Night Owl quickly stepped to the opposite side of the desk and sat down.

"What's wrong?" Shiller asked, "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

"I just... am not very interested in Magic History and wanted to find a place for self-study. Do you have a study room here?"

Shiller was quite speechless; these Batmen were really something. Wanting to study but not going to the library, coming to the school hospital instead?

There was indeed a study room, but it currently had an Arkham Batman hidden inside. If you really went in, I'd have a lot of work.

"No," Shiller could only say, "If you really want to stay here, go to the ward. The ward where the chandelier fell still hasn't been repaired, and there's no one inside. You can go in there."