Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

"What the hell is going on?! Why is this happening???" An almost angry roar echoed in the office. Batman stood in the center of the room, nearly losing his mind.

Lucius Fox stood behind him, and beside Fox, there was a woman in a white lab coat holding a stack of medical reports.

"Calm down, Bruce. Things haven't worsened to the point of being completely unsolvable, but you need some time."

Her voice was very steady, as if everyone could draw strength from her very words. When Batman turned to look at her, he only saw calm in those deep brown eyes.

It was as if all the air had been let out of him, he covered one eye with the base of his palm and said, "Sorry, ma'am. I just feel very upset."

The woman stepped forward and patted Batman on the shoulder, and Batman did not shy away. She set aside the documents in her hands and then said, "Mr. Todd's situation is a bit special. He seems to have shut himself off. If he is not willing to open up, then all the psychiatric treatment will be meaningless to him."

"His reaction is so strong only with you, perhaps because you were once the person he was most familiar with. He wants to communicate with you, but the shadows of the past are still binding him, you can't give up so soon."

"I never thought about giving up." Batman took a deep breath and said, "It's all my fault. If that day I hadn't... I just want to say sorry to him."

"There will be a chance." The woman nodded and said, "I will go and find an old friend of mine to consult Mr. Todd. In the meantime, would you please not provoke him any further, okay?"

"I will, Dr. Tompkins."

After being referred to as Dr. Tompkins, the woman left the office and went back to the ward, where the black-haired young man still sat there, unresponsive to her arrival.

Dr. Tompkins squatted in front of Jason, looked up at him, and said, "I know you can hear me talking. If you wish, you can talk to me about what happened back then. I promise I won't tell anyone. But if you don't want to, I assure you that no one will force you, including Batman."

After speaking, she gently patted Jason's knee and stood up. She took out her cellphone to call her old classmate as she walked out of the hospital and headed to the parking lot to get into her car, driving towards the Lower city area.

The car turned several corners and finally stopped in front of a semi-abandoned community center. The sign for the community center had been taken down, replaced by a handmade wooden sign reading "Tompkins Affordable Clinic."

When Dr. Tompkins walked into the clinic, the spacious community center hall was already filled with people. Dr. Tompkins hurried in, and a tall white man wearing goggles came out to meet her. A bright-eyed owl perched on his shoulder.

"My God, Piet, you finally came." Dr. Tompkins lacked her usual composure from the office at Wayne Hospital. She looked worried to the point of bursting.

"Yes, I'm here." The man called Piet, with his thick Northern European accent, said, "I came over from Oregon as soon as you called me. But I didn't expect the situation to be this bad. In the half an hour that you went to Wayne Hospital, I've seen 16 patients."

"How many did you save?"

"Only nine." Piet shook his head with force, "The others were already dead on arrival, there was nothing I could do."

Dr. Tompkins patted his shoulder and said, "To have saved nine lives, you truly live up to the nickname 'Midnight Doctor.'"

Dr. Tompkins had just walked into the corridor when she heard a piercing wail coming from one of the wards. Upon entering, she saw two teenage children crying over their mother's body.

The black woman's abdomen was covered in blood, the stretcher was hastily laid down. Dr. Tompkins and Piet rushed over immediately.

After a dozen minutes or so, the two emerged from the room, sweating profusely. Piet's hands were shaking as he said to Dr. Tompkins, "This place is completely out of control; it's truly like Hell on Earth. What on earth is Batman doing?"

Dr. Tompkins wiped her own forehead with a towel, wiped off the sweat about to drip into her eyes along her eyelashes, and then said, "Don't count on him. He's spread too thin right now; we need to figure something out ourselves."

Piet's lips had turned a little blue as he said, "Six explosions within three hours, three stabbing incidents, and two simultaneous serial killings. My God, isn't there anyone who can manage this place?"

Dr. Tompkins's face darkened. She said, "High society has gone mad. You go and get something to eat, then make a round in the Upper city area at night and deliver them some 'gifts.'"

Piet looked somewhat relieved and said, "Why didn't we do that sooner, I didn't just come here to be a doctor."

"How long can you hold them off?"

"I can't directly kill them, at most, I can give them something in their water to make them have a few days of diarrhea. If they have an independent water source, then it's useless."

"That's fine. We need more help, and I'll think of something."

Dr. Tompkins quickly threw herself back into more rescue work, and just when her hands were trembling with fatigue, she received another call from Batman.

""

"When can the consultation begin, ma'am?"

Dr. Tompkins glanced at the man lying in front of her, cradling his broken leg and wailing in agony, and let out a deep sigh, "Not now, Batman. I have a lot to attend to."

"I will have Lucius Fox send you supplies. I just hope it can be as soon as possible," Batman's voice deepened.

Tompkins slowly closed her eyes, but all she could say was, "Thank you, Batman, you've been a great help."

But she knew it was futile. No amount of medical supplies and survival gear could change the current situation.

The upper class, like madmen, were killing in the Lower city area; all the community hospitals were overflowing. Her small clinic was packed with 20 times the normal number of people, each patient hovering on the brink of life and death.

If it were merely a matter of saving people, no amount of doctors would be enough. Those madmen had to be stopped.

But thinking of Jason's current condition, Dr. Tompkins could not bear to press Batman any further. She could only say to herself, alright, if this is the case, then don't expect all doctors to be able to continue honoring their oaths. That includes me.

Just when Dr. Tompkins was contemplating what to do, an unexpected person arrived at her clinic—James Gordon.

This once proud Commissioner had lost a lot of weight; he seemed to have aged ten years overnight, but he looked not weary, but more spirited.

"It's been a long time, Doctor."

"It's been a long time, Commissioner, let's skip the pleasantries. You can see how busy I am right now."

"Of course. I want to express my gratitude again for saving my life, but that's all I can offer. I hope you don't mind."

"That's ancient history. What brings you here? Did Batman send you?"

Gordon waved his hand and said, "Don't mention him. We can't always count on him. I came here to solve problems. How are things on your end?"

"Very, very, very bad," Dr. Tompkins wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, "The injured are pouring in non-stop, and counting interns and nurses, we only have five people here. We are desperately short-handed and too many people are dying because of this."

A hint of sorrow flashed across Gordon's face, but it didn't last long. He said, "We both understand that getting those people to stop is key. But the conflict has now escalated to an irreparable level. We can no longer remain silent."

"I've heard about your situation," Dr. Tompkins bandaged another patient and finally had a moment to take a sip of water during the lull of incoming patients. She said, "I don't believe you would kill someone for no reason, but I believe even more that if you wanted him dead, that guy wouldn't still be alive lying on a hospital bed accusing you."

Gordon cracked a smile and said, "Exactly. The news of my resignation is going to broadcast in about ten minutes."

Dr. Tompkins gave him a long look.

There was a television in the clinic lobby, meant to pass the time for waiting patients. The lobby was now crowded with people with minor injuries, all watching the news broadcast on the TV.

When the news anchor announced that the current police Commissioner James Gordon was resigning due to his alleged involvement in a murder case, everyone's face showed a look of bewilderment.

In Gotham, everyone knew James Gordon was the last bit of conscience.

Before the GTO appeared, Gordon was a desperate warrior, saving the city from collapsing. After the GTO appeared, he indeed restored the city to order. He was the undoubted hero in the eyes of Gothamites.

After the initial confusion, the lobby erupted in chaos, people disregarding their own pain, cursing the news reporters, television stations, Harvey, the upper class...

And after the initial outburst of emotion, there came silence. Low, stifled sobbing emerged from the corners.

The children cried, sensing something was amiss yet not knowing what had happened, expressing their fear through tears. The elders cried too, as they were more aware than anyone of what had transpired, expressing their despair through tears.

Gotham's last bit of conscience had fallen, and the bloody slaughter continued. The atmosphere of despair and panic spread, and the ordinary Gothamites finally realized they were on the path to ruin.

A car stopped at the entrance of Wayne Manor. Batman opened the gate. Shiller stood in the dimming light of the dwindling car headlights, like the last thin cloud fading on the horizon.

"What do you want?" Shiller asked.

"I've heard you're a psychiatrist," Batman, maintaining his position at the door, said, "Someone needs your help."

"Then you've come to the right person," Shiller smiled and stepped through the gate, walking straight towards Wayne Manor as he said, "I may be unprincipled, but I'm not a quack."