Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

"I didn't expect you to bring him back here. I guess his primary psychiatrist didn't agree." Shiller said at the bedroom door of Wayne Manor, "If you plan to deceive me as well, I can just take the hefty consultation fee and pacify you with pleasantries."

"Wayne Hospital isn't safe enough," Batman seemed to be explaining, "Someone is watching that place, I can't let them find Jason."

"Fine, have it your way. Just hope the familiar environment hasn't agitated him. Otherwise, you'll have to pay extra."

Shiller cracked the door open and saw a silhouette sitting by the bed, seemingly calm for now. So he said, "When I treat him, you can't be there. And I'll make your surveillance cameras useless. If you can't accept that, forget it."

Batman furrowed his brows, seemingly still pondering, but Shiller had already pushed the door open and, with a bang, shut Batman out.

Once inside the room, a wisp of grey mist began to spread, circling around the room. Soon, a faint fog covered all the walls.

The young man sitting by the bed finally lifted his head.

His eyes sharpened in an instant, exuding an indescribable ferocity. Just meeting such a gaze was enough to send a chill down one's spine.

Shiller didn't react to his attitude but simply sat down in the chair next to the bed and said, "I'm sure Batman won't know about our conversation. I think you can talk about what happened back then."

Jason seemed to become vacant again. But after sitting idly for a while, he reached out for the water glass on the bedside table.

Shiller handed him the glass. He drank a whole glass of water, coughed violently twice, coughing up some bloody phlegm, then took a deep breath.

"The night I was captured by the Joker, Batman could have saved me." Jason's voice was so hoarse it didn't sound human, like a person who had been paralyzed in bed for years and suddenly spoke. His vocal cords seemed utterly beyond his control, punctuated by useless breathy sounds at every syllable's turn.

"Do you resent him?"

"That's not what I'm saying," Jason continued, "The key point is the reason he didn't come save me."

"What is it?"

"He went to stop a crime."

"So you still resent him for not choosing you."

"I told you that's not the point! Cough cough cough!" Jason slammed the glass onto the table, splashing water out.

After a lengthy cough, he continued, "It was a manipulated case meant to make Batman ruin a metal smelting plant during the fight with Bane, to cover up the fact that a batch of raw materials never existed."

Jason didn't seem to expect Shiller to understand; he just spoke for himself, "Before the Joker made his move, I was tracking this case and traced it to someone. Then I suddenly realized the truth—Batman has always been used by them."

Shiller arched an eyebrow. He calculated that Jason was very young at that time, no more than 12 at most. He had uncovered the truth that early?

"And then you were caught by the Joker?"

"Yes," Jason took a deep breath and said, "He tortured me, demanding to know Batman's true identity."

"He didn't know by then?"

"He didn't. But I told him."

Shiller frowned. He was recalling the original storyline, but in the comic "The Pale Knight," Jason didn't have much screen time, with just a few flashbacks of him being tortured by the Joker.

However, in the original story, he indeed revealed Batman's identity and even said becoming Batman's sidekick was the thing he regretted the most.

But now, it seemed there was a different interpretation. If Jason had realized so early that Batman was actually an accomplice of the upper-class, was he regretting his role in abetting tyranny?

Jason took a deep breath and said, "I always felt that by helping Batman, I could save Gotham. But after learning the truth, I realized how naive I was. The existence of Batman is a mistake in itself."

"As long as he exists, those people will use him to continuously cover up their mistakes," Jason said coldly, "Even the Joker is somewhat more innocent. At least his insane mind makes him unmanipulable and unbribable."

Shiller could understand Jason's feelings at the time. Because Jason had once lived at the bottom of Gotham, with an indomitable heart, much like Willie, he sought a way out for the city.

Back then, he naively thought that by helping Batman wholeheartedly, he could really make the city better. He put in a lot of effort and truly felt he had accomplished something.

Until one day, he suddenly discovered that helping Batman was not saving the city at all, but actually aiding the Elite who had oppressed and persecuted him, to further oppress more poor people like him.

It was like going from a world-saving hero to a blood-stained executioner overnight. His faith completely collapsed.

"So you disclosed Batman's identity to the Joker."

"Yes, I hoped the Joker would go and kill him," Jason looked up at Shiller, "At least kill the identity of Batman, so he wouldn't do such stupid things anymore."

"But it wasn't successful."

Jason shook his head and said, "Because the Joker wasn't fighting Batman alone, but the entire upper-class society. As long as those Elites want to profit from Batman, they would help him against the Joker."

"Do you know who saved you?"

Jason paused unusually, saying, "I can't be sure. But it might have been Harley Quinn."

"What do you mean?"

"During the times the Joker was tormenting me, she secretly helped me. Otherwise, I would have truly gone mad. But in the end, I was already in a coma and only felt like I was thrown somewhere. After that, I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I found myself in a psychiatric hospital in Brude Haven."

Shiller tapped his fingers on the armrest and said, "I hope you can be honest with me. There aren't many who can help you now. But I can understand your secrecy. After all, we're not very familiar with each other yet."

"You want to ask why I'm pretending to be insane, right?"

Shiller looked at him without speaking.

Jason pressed his lips together and said, "Someone is watching me. I suspect it's that group, but I can't be certain. They might want to use me as the last resort to threaten Batman."

Before Shiller could speak, Jason continued, "I realized the truth and got caught by the Joker at the same time. At that moment, both my mind and body were in pain, and I didn't have time to think calmly."

"But later, while I was in the psychiatric hospital, I thought about everything Batman had done, and then I realized he was even dumber than I thought. He truly believes he's doing good."

"But if that's the case, it proves he's at least a stupid good guy. If he could recognize and admit that, he definitely wouldn't keep complying obediently."

"But those people would never give up on a money-making machine that they've cultivated for so long. They need a means to control Batman, which can only be done through the people close to him."

Hearing this, Shiller's hand, which was unconsciously tapping the armrest, paused for a moment. He looked at Jason and said, "Do you know that Alfred is dead?"

Jason was struck as if by a heavy blow.

He stood up from the bed abruptly, but because he had been sitting for too long, his blood circulation was poor. After he stood up hastily, he let out a cry of pain and fell to the floor.

His movement was so sudden, Shiller didn't react in time. He quickly helped Jason up.

But Jason seemed not to see him, saying, "Yes, that must be it. They've made a move. They want to turn Batman into their complete puppet."

Shiller was just about to say something when he felt his wrist grabbed. Jason's grip was strong, and when Shiller pulled away, he couldn't free himself.

"Calm down," Shiller said, "or don't blame me for being impolite."

Jason showed no reaction. Shiller felt that he wasn't entirely insane, but he certainly wasn't in a very normal state of mind.

"After Alfred's death, has Batman become more irritable? Does he start treating criminals with more violence, beating them, even hurting them? Is that what's happening?!"

Shiller narrowed his eyes and said, "How do you know?"

Jason suddenly let go, realizing, and said, "I..."

"You can talk about what you know." Shiller soothed him, then said, "I will verify it myself."

Jason sat back down, but his limbs were stiff. He propped his hands on his knees and then said, "They didn't choose Batman for no reason."

"What?"

"The Wayne Family might have a hereditary disease." Jason licked his dry lips and said, "They have violent tendencies when their emotions are extremely volatile, which worsens with age."

"How do you know this?!"

"When Alfred was organizing Mr. and Mrs. Wayne's belongings, I found a tape recorder. There was an unfinished tape inside, seemingly the therapeutic records of a psychiatrist."

"What did it say?"

"I don't remember clearly, but it seemed to say that Thomas Wayne's condition had worsened. He did something." Jason's fists on his knees gradually clenched tight as he said, "That voice was somewhat familiar, like Dr. Tompkins, Batman's personal doctor."

Shiller felt the pieces of the puzzle in his mind starting to connect. He looked at Jason and said, "Have you never told Batman any of this?"

"At that time, I just felt it was unimportant. But later, as I considered everything in the psychiatric hospital, I felt something was wrong."

Jason swallowed and said, "Gotham's elite didn't just start after Bruce Wayne was born, at least it already existed in his father's childhood. Their investment in crime didn't happen overnight but likely started decades ago."

"You suspect Batman's father was also chosen by them? But his father did not become a superhero and was unfortunately assassinated."

"Could it be possible that he was assassinated because he refused to become Batman?" Jason sped up his speech and looked at Shiller, "Thomas went to see a psychiatrist, which means he realized something wasn't right. He might have wanted to correct a mistake, but that group found out. To carry out their diabolic plan, they simply killed Mr. and Mrs. Wayne and instead cultivated their son."

"A good story. But you have no evidence." Shiller said, "The only one who might have known the whole picture, Alfred, is dead."

"But Dr. Tompkins is still alive." Jason said, "Although she came later than Alfred, if Thomas went to her for therapy, it proves she can be trusted."

Shiller sighed and said, "I'll investigate this. But before that, do something for me."

"What is it?"

"How much of your ability is left?"

Jason looked at him: "What do you want me to do?"

"Of course, seek revenge." Shiller also looked at him and said, "Find the pale knight, and then give him a shot."