Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

"I don't understand what you mean."

"If you wanted to hide your identity, you should have worn a mask last night, not wait until after I had seen your true face before attempting to deny it."

Shiller put down his coffee cup, the clink echoing on the table surface. "I am not denying you saw me last night. I am asking why you would disregard your vast wealth, neglecting to donate to charities, pitching yourself in ridiculous tights in pouring rain, fighting street thugs in the streets of Gotham City?"

Bruce fell silent in answer to this question.

"This was not a rhetorical question," Shiller said, "You don't need to think about how to answer, because I will give you the answer."

"Because your true aim is not to help, but to seek revenge."

"That is your answer for me," Bruce retorted.

"No, I am merely reflecting what your heart is saying," said Shiller.

"I don't believe that any mind-reading techniques exist in this world."

"Of course, there's no such thing as mind-reading in this world. However, certain people don't realize that their inner desires can be betrayed in certain responses. People always think they can hide their inner feelings well when in truth they can't."

"Can I learn this ability?" Bruce asked, "This ability to see into people's hearts."

"And then use it to seek revenge on criminals?" Shiller queried, "You're thinking too simply, Bruce. Perhaps your motive is revenge. But if you take it as your sole motivator, you're bound to end up like last night."

Shiller made a gesture indicating a downward spiral. Bruce defended:

"Last night, I added a cape to my Bat Armor. I also plan to design a belt...."

"You know that's not the point. You can add a fist capable of generating thousands of kilograms of force to your hand, or an engine to your boots that allows you to jump and reach the moon. You can even design a pair of wings for yourself that will allow you to fly to any planet in the Solar System. I believe you are capable of doing all these, Bruce."

"But all these are hardly enough, nowhere near enough."

"If I had such powers, I could eradicate all the criminals in the world, couldn't I?" Bruce asked.

With a sigh, Shiller concluded that Batman, who had yet to face the Joker, couldn't possibly imagine how an unarmed criminal, an ordinary skinny man, relatively powerless with a slight skill in acrobatics and martial arts could defeat a superhero who is a master of hundreds of fighting skills learned from around the world.

Shiller felt that no matter how he guided Bruce, the future Batman, he would always amount to only an assistant in Batman's life journey. The person who truly educated Batman in every way was his Arch-nemesis, the Joker.

And now, the Joker was probably living an insignificant life in some circus.

There was still a hint of arrogance in Bruce. He requested to learn psychology from Shiller because Bruce was ever learning, always mastering different skills. He was both humble and arrogant, two seemingly contradictory qualities that, in him, didn't clash.

Shiller said: "As I have mentioned before, of course, you can study psychology. Everything is in the textbooks. You are welcome to attend my lectures, read the necessary literature, do your assignments, write your papers, and ace your exams. I am a professor, and I won't prevent any student from learning."

"You know that's not what I want to study..."

"So what do you think you are missing?"

"Your....special abilities." Bruce gestured as he spoke. "I've met many individuals all over the world with abilities that normal people don't have..."

"No, I am not like them. I do not possess any abilities beyond that of ordinary humans."

Bruce hesitated for a moment, evidently not believing Shiller's explanation. Shiller didn't have any arguments to offer any more. The youthful Batman was still too immature, acting too straightforwardly, impulsively and without considering consequences.

Bruce's impatience prevailed. The setbacks he had experienced in his superhero career had only enhanced his anxiousness. Apparently thinking that if he could learn the mind-reading techniques from Shiller, he would have an easier time dealing with criminals, instead of being tossed off a building by members of the mob and humiliatingly crashing to the ground.

He still had not figured out what had led to his failure.

Bruce left Shiller again, without gaining anything from the conversation. Shiller merely advised him, even threatened him to attend his classes and ace his final exams.

However, Bruce obviously didn't heed any of Shiller's advice.

That night, Shiller left his place again, going back to Jonathan's secret base and stole more of the fear gas. Even a fool like Jonathan should realize that more than half of the stock on the shelf is missing.

Without any extensive knowledge in chemistry, there was no way for Shiller to modify or improve the fear gas. He could only containerize them into separate containers or dilute them in simple ways.

But there was one thing he could still do - scare Batman with the fear gas.

Soon, Shiller had found himself back in the Morson district again. He knew Batman would return. Bruce was the kind of person who, having stumbled in one place, would stand up in the same place and refuse any change of location. It was the matter of his pride.