Chapter 123 - A Lone Shadow Becomes a Pair (Three) _2

"Do you want me to compliment you on having a nose that's more sensitive than a dog's?"

Batman rubbed his hand armor with his other hand, noticing that the mood of the person in the back seat seemed to worsen all of a sudden, which seemed illogical. So he spoke again, "In any case, welcome to Gotham."

"Is your way of welcoming, just standing there and watching when I fall from a height of more than two meters?"

Batman instantly understood, so he said, "At that time, I thought you were a corpse."

"In this city, humanoid objects falling from a high altitude are mostly corpses. I was pleasantly surprised when my wait did not end with an explosion."

"He sure knows how to talk." Jason sighed, agreeing with Harley, who nodded. However, Clark, who sat at the edge, looked dumbfounded. He spread his hands and said, "What are they talking about? Is it some kind of riddle? Am I the only one who doesn't understand?"

Harley rolled her eyes, sighed and said, "Okay, we have a big dummy here! Jason, use your genius brain to analyze what they're saying and then explain it to us. Don't you love to show off?"

Jason pursed his lips, rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Why don't you explain?"

"Fine, I'll explain!" Harley stood up, leaning her face on the back of the front seat, and said, "Obviously, Batman bringing this suit exceeded Shiller's expectations and surprised him."

"At this point, Batman saying that Shiller is not a bomb surprised him. This is essentially saying, 'that suit was just a courtesy, you don't owe me anything'."

"If it's not about pleading or pleasing, then Batman's subsequent actions of distancing himself from those rude assassins and pointing out Shiller's differences can be seen as sincere."

"Clearly, Batman wants to further deepen their relationship, from material to spiritual, from a simple aesthetic match to a resonance of worldviews."

Another person looked dumbfounded; Barry on the other side looked dizzy. He pointed at the screen and said, "Isn't Batman saying that in such a dangerous city, without me saving you, you would have become a corpse? Isn't this a blatant threat? And the stuff about bombs sounds terrifying, this must be a threat, right? Right?!"

Clark vigorously nodded and said, "Shouldn't he explain at this time, saying he was too far away, didn't have time to rush over, or didn't notice something falling from the sky? This is the actual situation, right? Why doesn't he explain directly?"

"That's Batman for you!" Barry stood up again, pointing at the screen, "He never explains to anyone..."

"Is it possible that he does explain, you just don't understand?" Constantine this time stood with the two kids.

"Is that called explaining? Isn't that a threat combined with mockery?!"

Positions synchronized, Harley and Jason shook their heads, sighing. Harley hugged her arms, wagging her head, "I've heard a funny theory that people in the world are either like cats or dogs. Clearly, we're cats, while you guys are…"

"Enough!" Barry gestured to the sky, "I always thought cats were hard to understand. Unpredictable mood swings, sudden meowing, hiding from you like you were the enemy, then rubbing against you. How can they be as cute and friendly as dogs?"

"Although Little Bruce is quite cute, it's indeed harder to understand." Clark shook his head as well, "On the contrary, I feel like Little Kryptonite understands me, and I understand it."

"See, that's the difference," Harley looked around and said, "I, on the other hand, feel that dogs are too passionate. Wagging their tails and barking at everyone they meet, drooling all over, at times, downright impolite."

Both sides of the argument simultaneously said, "whatever," unable to convince one another.

Barry's eyes rolled around, recalling as he spoke, "If this is the division, it seems like the people around Batman don't resemble him much."

"Clark and I need not mention, Diana is a bit better, but not by much. However, the kids from the Batman Family, well, your future selves, should be more like cats, like Batman. So why can't they get along?"

"Why don't you ask why Shiller and Bruce don't get along?" Jason pointed out incisively, "The age gap inherent in the roles of father and son, teacher and student, makes communication difficult."

"So Batman's introversion is our fault?" said Barry, feeling somewhat wronged.

Even though he said so, he was a bit self-doubting as he watched the screen, feeling the atmosphere inside the Batmobile was getting quite friendly.

"I'm not much for those New World red wines, especially the barrel ones, I prefer to have a fortified wine when chatting..." said Shiller.

"Sherry or Port?"

"Sherry."

"Funny, I prefer Sherry too."

"Sadly, I opened a bottle of White Poet South before I came here but didn't finish it. Fortunately, it's not warm so it should preserve for a while. I hope it can wait for me for a few more days." Shiller shook his head, his expression full of regret.

"I prefer a lighter taste." Batman returned his hands to the steering wheel, "I have a decent bottle of Muscadet in my cellar."

"As good as this suit?"

"Of course."

"Can someone translate for me? What are they talking about?" Barry screeched, "Were they not discussing a murder case just now? Isn't it too soon to be discussing the type of celebratory wine?"

"They're merely familiarizing themselves with each other." Constantine stoically explained, "Even I could understand this much."

"Shut up, you British jerk."

"Alright, in essence, Shiller revealed some information about himself to Batman. He doesn't like New World red wine, implying that he's a man of the Old World--Europe. His unfinished red wine hinting that his normal stay isn't hot likely suggests that he was only visiting Mexico. These pieces of information show Shiller is influenced by Europe and American cultures more than Latin cultures. It helps Batman understand cultural taboos in their following conversations, as well as finding commonalities, like discussing God or the Bible."

"So what does it mean when Batman talks about the wine he likes?" Barry pressed.

Clark expressed his own confusion, "When he mentioned the wine in his cellar, I thought he was going to invite Shiller for a drink. If he talked about his wine like that and didn't invite me, I'd be quite disappointed."

"No, what Batman meant was, 'If you'd like to reciprocate, I prefer lighter wines--it's appropriate.' When Shiller asked if the wine was as good as Batman's suit, he was telling Batman he got the message."

"Oh God, spare me! It feels like I'm back at school again tackling essay questions!" Barry flopped onto the chair while Clark shook his head, his face full of frustration.

"Surprised?" Morbid asked, watching Bruce's side profile with amusement, "You thought you'd be sending another madman to your other selves, but you ended up sending someone who gets along splendidly. Quite chummy."

Bruce's mouth turned down slightly, and Morbid looked back at him. Leaning towards Bruce, Morbid stared up at him and whispered in his ear:

"You are looking awful."