PFC Chapter 3784 Negotiations (Part 2)
Chapter 3784 Negotiations (Part 2)
Chapter 3784 Negotiations (Part 2)
In his office at the Wayne Corporation building, Bei Bat took off his glasses. He leaned back in his chair, interlaced his index fingers on his abdomen, let out a long sigh, and quickly sat up straight again to examine his battle interface.
"Knock, knock, knock." The assistant knocked on the door and said, "Mr. Rodriguez has arrived."
"Invite him in."
Schiller walked in, shook hands with Batman, and then hugged him. Batman smiled at him and said, "A rare guest."
Schiller smiled and nodded at him. The two walked to the desk, where Schiller took an invitation from his briefcase and said, "This is an invitation to the Magic Academy's admissions. What do you think?"
Batman picked it up and looked at it. It was a purple invitation card, which, when unfolded, resembled a display screen because the images on it were animated, and the text appeared gradually.
“It’s hard to imagine how abundant your universe’s magical energy is that you could waste it on this,” Batman remarked. “I think it’s pretty good, quite amazing. But I think Batman might prefer something simpler.”
"We want to capture the dreamlike quality of magic so that children will be filled with longing for it," Schiller explained with a smile.
"Children?" Bei Bat asked, somewhat surprised.
Schiller was also somewhat surprised, wondering what he was questioning, so he returned a puzzled expression.
"So this school doesn't recruit Batman?"
"Are you kidding me?" Schiller said, dumbfounded. "Who would recruit a bunch of Batmen to study in their own universe? That's insane!"
Batman touched his nose somewhat awkwardly and said, "It's not that exaggerated, is it?"
"Of course there is. I had a lot of trouble convincing the manager of the supernatural organization in our universe to let Batman go there for a look. But it's only allowed to accompany the students for a quick visit. If he stayed to attend school, wouldn't the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. go crazy?"
“Your information doesn’t explicitly state that,” Batman said. “You’re talking like you’re recruiting Batman to go to magic school.”
Schiller opened his mouth, then looked at the message he had sent to the group, and had to admit that Bay Bat was right.
"It's just that there are many details that can't be explained directly in the message," Schiller said. "I want to invite interested Batmen to some universe to talk together, rather than directly recruiting them into school."
In which universe do you plan to discuss this?
“I’ve already made contact with a relatively sunny and safe universe,” Schiller said. “Then I’ll arrange for them to visit my universe. That way, they can also recommend our school within Batman.”
“Then you’d better clarify as soon as possible that you don’t want them to go to school.” Batman put the invitation back and said, “In my opinion, although most Batmen don’t have magical talent, they’ve never thought of giving up their control over magical powers. Saying this might rekindle their hope. You don’t want to be bothered by so many Batmen, do you?”
Schiller shuddered at the thought. He sighed and said, "Then we'll just have to explain it to them during the negotiations. By the way, who are you planning to send?"
"After meeting Robins from other universes, I started looking in my own. The easiest one to find was Tim Drake; I know his father. He's a clever kid, and I think I could give him a try."
“It seems you can manage both Wayne Enterprises and Batman’s business perfectly well without needing Tim’s help. So sending him to explore the magical realm is indeed a good idea.”
They chatted for a while about the system and curriculum of the magic academy, then Schiller glanced at his watch and said, "It's about time, let's go to that Batman universe now."
The Batman in the Adventure Universe is exactly the same as the Batman in the main universe, so although the story seems more heartwarming, the climate conditions in Gotham remain the same. Their timing was also unfortunate, arriving in early spring with rain.
"Is this the sunny Gotham you were talking about?" Batman Bay stood at the airport entrance, looking at the weather outside, and said, "It doesn't seem as nice as the weather in Gotham in our universe."
“Maybe we came at the wrong time of year,” Schiller said. “But that’s fine too. If it were too sunny, most of the Batmen might not be able to handle it.”
“If you ask me, you should have set the meeting place in Los Angeles during the summer to give them a taste of their own medicine,” Batman laughed, seemingly imagining that scene.
“That’s a really good idea,” Schiller said. “It’s summer where we are, and the magic school is in a nature reserve in Massachusetts, so the UV radiation is very strong. We need to let them get used to it beforehand.”
As the two were talking, a limousine pulled up at the airport entrance. The dashing Batman, dressed in a suit, stepped out and shook hands with Schiller.
“Sorry, my universe isn’t as sunny as you imagine,” Batman chuckled. “It’s been raining for the past few days. But don’t worry too much about security. Knowing you were coming, I asked Clark and Diana to help me solve the recent cases.”
"That's incredibly bold, sir. You surpass 99% of Batmen."
Schiller and Bayonetta got into Batman's car, which headed towards Wayne Manor. On the way, Batman asked Bayonetta, "Did you receive that Batman's invitation?"
"Who are you talking about? The most Batman-like Batman?"
Schiller knew they were referring to Batman from the main universe.
Originally, having so many similar Batmen would have made it difficult to address each other, so codenames would have been a better option. However, most Batmen didn't seem to want a codename, especially a numerical one that didn't have any special meaning, so the matter was shelved.
However, the Batmen are all very clever. If a certain Batman is mentioned in a certain context, most of them know who is being referred to. Even if they don't know, they won't ask; they'll pretend they do and investigate later. This way, communication is quite harmonious.
“He’s recruiting,” Batman said. “It’s not just the Dark Universe that’s making a big fuss; the Batmen who have joined the Fighting Universe also have their own ideas. There are many small groups, and they’re in conflict with each other. It’s not easy to become the leader of Batman.”
"I think he's probably looking for someone to deal with the issues in the Dark Multiverse. He wants to rescue as many Batmen as possible, so he needs manpower. As for the internal struggles within Batman, they can never be as important as saving lives."
“That’s true.” Batman nodded and said, “He’s a man of high moral character, but that doesn’t mean everyone is like that. Some people have already started making moves. Aren’t you worried about getting involved?”
“Worrying won’t help,” Batman said. “This whole thing about fighting for a higher place in their own universe sounds really stupid. I don’t intend to get involved. Batmen have never been creatures that can survive by banding together. If they did, it would just prove they’re not pure or powerful enough.”
Batman remained silent, but he was clearly deep in thought. Schiller understood their concerns. Since the Battle Realm opened, the situation in the multiverse had become delicate.
When they first come into contact with this unfamiliar world, they need some time to explore, gather a lot of information, find their location, and formulate their own strategies.
Now, most Batmen have moved beyond the intelligence-gathering phase. They have a general understanding of the multiverse, and even detailed knowledge of some universes, so naturally they want to do something.
Wherever there are people, there is a social hierarchy. This statement should actually be changed to "Wherever there are people, there are social classes." Setting rules and establishing classes are themselves means of pursuing self-interest, and even if this society were built by Batman, it would still be no exception.
The Batmen are not greedy people, but if the benefits they can gain from the interaction can help them better fulfill their duties as Batmen and save the residents of Gotham, then they will definitely want to compete for it.
In any society, there are many ways to gain a voice. You can contribute to the group through your talents, and the main universe's Batman chose this path. He wanted to gather a group of people to go to the Dark Multiverse and rescue as many Batmen as possible, which aligned with the interests and moral values of most Batmen. If he did a good enough job, the Batmen would naturally be willing to accept his leadership.
But this is an extremely difficult task. The Dark Multiverse is fraught with danger, and not all of those Dark Batmen can be saved; there's a high chance they'll end up with nothing after all their efforts. Not every Batman has the ability and determination to do something like this.
The simplest solution is to band together. With enough supporters, you naturally have more influence. Some Batmen have chosen this approach.
They began frequently contacting their counterparts and even sought the support of Superman and Wonder Woman from various universes, hoping to gain greater influence within the Batman group.
While every Batman is like a saint compared to ordinary people, moral standards naturally vary within the Batman community. Moreover, pursuing one's own universe's interests isn't necessarily morally reprehensible; any normal person would do the same. Therefore, although some Batmen scoff at such methods, most are beginning to consider choosing sides.
Choosing the right side can bring more benefits to your universe; but if you choose the wrong side, you can only watch others reap the rewards.
Judging from the tone of their conversation, it seemed the Batman of the Grand Adventure Universe had chosen to support the main universe's Batman. However, Batman Bay's attitude wasn't good; he didn't seem to like this situation and still wanted to be a lone wolf.
According to Schiller, those who have clearly sided with the main universe's Batman include Arkham Batman, Batman from the Justice Lord universe, Batwoman, Batman the Destroyer, Batman the Warrior, and Batman the Beast. If you also include Batman the Adventurer, this team is incredibly powerful.
But their opponents are clearly not weak either. While the Laughing Batman is no longer in power, there's still Night Owl, whose ambitions are blatantly obvious. And those who have entered the Battlegrounds aren't just the purely righteous Batman; many are either evil or neutral, and they mostly follow Night Owl. Other counterparts also support him, such as the comic book version of Injustice Superman, and so on.
In other words, Batman can currently be divided into two factions: the leader of the good faction is the main universe's Batman, and the leader of the evil faction is Owl.
Of course, Bruce in the Schiller universe is also a unique individual, namely the "off-duty" type. He's never around when there's nothing going on, and even when there is, he's hard to contact. Not only does he not appear in the Battle Realm, but it's also difficult to find him in his own universe. His motto is "If you're bold enough, you can find him even during winter and summer vacations."
Don't let the seemingly unbelievable nature fool you; there are actually quite a few Batmen like this. They're always incredibly busy, but nobody ever knows what they're busy with—they're practically neutral parties between good and evil.