In the office of the Wayne Enterprises Building, Beihan took off his glasses. He leaned back in his chair, interlocking his fingers over his stomach, and sighed deeply. Soon, he sat up straight again and started checking his Battleworld interface.
"Knock, knock, knock." The assistant knocked on the door and said, "Mr. Rodriguez is here."
"Let him in."
Shiller walked in, shook hands with Beihan, and gave him a brief hug. Beihan looked at him and smiled, saying, "A rare guest."
Shiller also smiled and nodded at him. The two walked to the desk, and Shiller took an invitation from his briefcase and said, "This is an admission invitation from the Magic Academy. Take a look."
Beihan picked it up and glanced at it. It was a purple invitation. When unfolded, it looked more like a display screen because the patterns on it were moving, and the text appeared gradually.
"It's hard to imagine the abundance of magic energy in your universe to the extent that you can waste it on this," Beihan marveled, and said, "I think it's pretty good, quite magical. But I think Batman might prefer something simpler."
"We want to capture the dreamlike quality of magic, so the kids can be full of longing for it," Shiller smiled and explained.
"The kids?" Beihan asked, somewhat confused.
Shiller was also a bit surprised, not knowing what Beihan was questioning, so he returned a puzzled expression.
"So this school isn't for recruiting Batmen?"
"What a joke," Shiller said, dumbfounded, "Who in their right mind would recruit a bunch of Batmen into their universe for schooling? That's insane."
Beihan awkwardly scratched his nose and said, "It's not that exaggerated, is it?"
"Of course there is. I had a hard time persuading the manager of the supernatural organization in our universe just to let Batman visit there for a glimpse. But it's strictly to accompany the students there for a look, staying to study would drive the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director crazy."
"Your information didn't explicitly state that." Beihan said, "You made it sound like you're recruiting Batman to attend magic school."
Shiller opened his mouth, checked the message he had sent out to the group, and had to admit Beihan was right.
"It's just that many details can't be directly stated in the message," Shiller said. "I want interested Batmen to talk in some universe, not to directly recruit them for schooling."
"Which universe do you plan to talk in?"
"In a relatively sunny and safe universe, I've already arranged it," Shiller said. "Then I'll arrange for them to visit my universe for a tour. This way, they can internally recommend our school to other Batmen."
"You'd better clarify soon that you don't want them to attend school," Beihan put the invitation back, saying, "In my view, although most Batmen don't have magic talent, they've never thought about giving up control over magic power. What you've said might rekindle their hopes. You don't want to be tangled with that many Batmen, do you?"
Thinking of this possibility, Shiller shivered. He sighed and said, "Then I'll just have to explain when we negotiate. By the way, who do you plan to send over?"
"Since I've seen the Robins from other universes, I've been looking around in my universe. The easiest to find is Tim Drake. I know his father. He's a smart kid, and I think he could give it a try."
"It seems you're perfectly capable of managing Wayne Enterprises and Batman's affairs without needing Tim's help. Letting him explore the magic domain is indeed a good idea."
They talked a while longer about the policies and curriculum of the Magic Academy. Then Shiller glanced at his watch and said, "It's about time. Let's head to that Batman's universe now."
The setup of the Big Adventure Universe's Batman is identical to that of the Prime Universe Batman, so although the story seems warm, Gotham's climate conditions remain unchanged. Their timing wasn't great, as it was early spring with rain.
"Is this what you meant by sunny Gotham?" Beihan stood at the airport entrance, observing the weather outside, and said, "It's even worse than Gotham's weather in our universe."
"Maybe we came during the wrong season," Shiller said, "But this might be better, because too much sun might make most Batmen uncomfortable."
"If you ask me, you should have set the negotiation site in summer in Los Angeles to give them a stern warning," Beihan laughed, seemingly imagining the scene.
"That really is a good idea," Shiller said, "It's indeed summer on our side. Plus, the magic school is in a nature reserve in Massachusetts, where the ultraviolet rays are very strong. It's best to let them acclimate in advance."
As they spoke, a limousine stopped at the airport entrance. The Big Adventure Batman, dressed in a suit, stepped out and shook hands with Shiller.
"Sorry, my universe isn't as sunny as you imagined," Batman smiled and said, "It's been raining for the past few days. But you don't have to worry too much about security. Knowing you were coming, I asked Clark and Diana for help, and they solved the recent cases."
"Very impressive, sir. Better than 99% of Batmen."
Shiller and Beihan got into Batman's car, which headed towards Wayne Manor. On the way, Batman asked Beihan, "Did you receive that Batman's invitation?"
"Who are you talking about? The most Batman of Batmen?"
Shiller knew they were referring to the Primary Universe Batman.
Given so many similar Batmen, addressing each other could be a problem, so inventing a code name seemed better. However, most Batmen didn't seem to want a codename, especially meaningless numerical ones, so the matter was shelved.
But the Batmen are smart. In certain contexts, when mentioning a particular Batman, most Batmen know who they are talking about. Even if they don't, they pretend to know and later investigate, maintaining harmonious communication.
"He's recruiting," Batman said, "It's not just the dark universe that's making waves; those Batmen who've joined Battleworld each have their agendas. There are many small groups with conflicts. Becoming the spokesperson of Batmen is no easy task."
"I think he wants to find people to resolve issues of the dark multiverse. He hopes to rescue as many Batmen as possible, so he needs manpower. As for internal Batman conflicts, they can never be as important as saving people."
"That's true," Batman nodded and said, "He is noble, but that doesn't mean everyone is. Some people have already started moving; aren't you worried about getting dragged in?"
"Worrying is useless," Beihan said, "Striving for a higher status for one's universe sounds foolish to me. I'm not planning to participate. Batmen were never creatures that could survive in groups; if they do this, it proves they aren't pure or strong enough."
Batman fell silent, but he was clearly deep in thought. Shiller understood their worries. Since the opening of Battleworld, the multiverse situation has become nuanced.
When first encountering this unfamiliar world, they needed time to explore, gather a large amount of information, find positions, and formulate their strategies.
Now, most Batmen have finished the intelligence-gathering phase. They have a general understanding of the multiverse and detailed knowledge of certain universes, so they naturally want to take action.
Wherever there are people, there is society. This phrase should actually be "where there are people, there are classes". The establishment of rules and classes is a means of pursuing benefits, even in a society constructed by Batmen.
Though Batmen aren't greedy for money, if the benefits from communication can help them better fulfill Batman's duties and save Gotham residents, they will surely want to give it a try.
In any society, there are many ways to gain influence. You can contribute to the group with your talent; the Primary Universe Batman chose this route. He wants to gather a team to the dark multiverse to rescue as many Batmen as possible. This aligns with most Batmen's interests and moral views. If he does it well, Batmen will naturally accept his leadership.
But this is a very difficult task. The dark multiverse is fraught with danger; not all dark Batmen can be saved. It's likely that a lot of effort yields no results. Not every Batman has the ability or determination to undertake such a mission.
The simpler method is to form alliances. With enough supporters, one's influence naturally grows stronger. Some Batmen choose this path.
They start frequently contacting their counterparts, even trying to gain the support of Supermen and Wonder Women from various universes to gain more influence within the Batman community this way.
Compared to ordinary people, each Batman seems like a saint, yet within the Batman group, morality also varies. Furthermore, pursuing benefits for one's universe isn't considered immoral; any normal person would do the same. Thus, while some Batmen scoff at such tactics, most start considering sides.
Choosing the right camp can benefit one's universe; choosing wrong means watching others enjoy the spoils.
From listening to these two Batmen, it seems the Big Adventure Universe's Batman has chosen to support the Primary Universe Batman. However, Beihan's attitude wasn't too good; he doesn't seem to like such matters and prefers to remain a loner.
As Shiller understands, those who have clearly sided with the Primary Universe Batman are Arkham Batman, Justice Lord Universe Batman, Batwoman, Ravage Batman, God of War Batman, Ke Fu, etc. Counting in the Big Adventure Batman, this team is incredibly strong.
Yet their opponents aren't weak either. Although Mad Laugh is no longer influential, Knight Owl remains, and his ambitions are evident. Those entering Battleworld are not just strictly just Batmen; there are plenty with evil or neutral stances, mostly following Knight Owl. Other counterparts support him as well, like the comic version of Injustice Superman.
Thus, Batmen can currently be divided into two factions: the justice faction, led by the Primary Universe Batman, and the evil faction, led by Knight Owl.
Of course, the Bruce from the Schiller Universe forms another group: the off-duty faction. He's rarely found when there's no crisis and hard to contact even during times of need, not showing up in Battleworld, and elusive even in his universe, sticking to "as long as you're bold enough, summer breaks can be extended into winter breaks."
Though it seems unreliable, this kind of Batman isn't rare. Ask them what they're up to, and they're always busy, yet no one knows what they're busy with—barely considered neutral between good and evil.