"So it turned out to be you!" Batman glared at Reed and said, "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"
"Well, you didn't ask." Reed glared back, "Besides, your behavior is quite unique and valuable for reference. I just see you as an interesting experiment. I have no obligation to explain anything to you."
With a "bang," Batman punched him.
"Sorry, my hand slipped," he said.
Reed clutched his nose and stood up from under the bar, somewhat disgruntled, "I merely skipped the process of you uncovering my lie and directly told the truth. What's with your big reaction?"
Batman scrutinized Reed's expression, realizing that he genuinely didn't find calling others experimental subjects impolite. Judging by his attitude, he might even consider it a high compliment for Batman.
"I also skipped the process of arguing with you and reminding you to mind your manners, and directly fast-forwarded to the 'hand slip.'
Reed sniffed and said, "You don't need to overreact. You know I created Pikachu, so you should also know, I can't compile you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten in at the beginning."
Batman's hand paused again. He immediately realized, given Reed's character, if he could do something to Batman, he definitely wouldn't just create a Pikachu to observe him. He must have acted then, but simply failed.
Thinking this, Batman couldn't help but hold his forehead. After all the beating around the bush, was the biggest opponent he encountered across the two cosmos still this troublemaker?
Honestly speaking, ever since the crossover, Batman hadn't encountered any power that truly threatened him. Many times, the setbacks he endured were due to his way of handling things, which is more of give-and-take rather than being forced.
But even so, Reed's action of taking action against him back then, that potential danger ranked first. Because Batman was completely unaware at the time, let alone taking precautions. If, not for some unknown reason, Reed had failed, the trouble would've been significant.
"So why didn't you succeed back then?" Batman asked.
"I don't know either," Reed shook his head, "At that time, I was still exploring, and the techniques available weren't many and not mature. I just tried randomly. Maybe it was stopped."
"Stopped? Stopped by whom?"
"By you," Reed said, "Who else if not you?"
Batman froze, then anger flooded from the heart, he returned to the High Tower, shouting: "Superego!!!"
A silhouette slowly walked out from the office, looked up. Greed patted the railing and shouted, "You knew Reed attacked me?!"
"Yes."
"Then why is there nothing about it in the memory bank?!"
"I deleted it."
"You..."
Greed swallowed back all his words. Gritting his teeth, he fiercely pounded the railing, but before he could say anything, Reed's voice brought his thoughts back to reality.
"Speaking of Pikachu, I must clarify," Reed continued, "In fact, I can't monitor you through him."
"It's apparent," Batman said.
"Your memory gave him soul, your strength gave him body, but the process was orchestrated by me. So he's effectively a clone of you. It was only after I created him, I realized I couldn't control him entirely."
Batman naturally understood what was going on. Reed's starting point was to leverage his strength to create a surveillance camera; however, since it used Batman's memory and his own strength, without Batman being aware, the little yellow rodent got free.
It's somewhat similar to Batman's memory traits, like Tom Cat and SpongeBob, possessing an independent body, just like what happened during the Infinite Event, except Pikachu came ahead of time.
"Then what are you after?" Batman couldn't help but ask, "Unsuccessful action, ineffective surveillance."
"This process is the significance," Reed said, "I observed all of this and even practiced it, that's the greatest significance. To be frank, without all this, I might not have achieved the heights I have now."
Batman felt like punching him again. Yet Reed earnestly said, "Of course, I think it's mainly due to the amazing power you possess. Honestly, isn't that something you created?"
"How can you tell?"
"An intuition," Reed said, "If a reason is needed, it's because, honestly, the feeling of you and that power is entirely opposite."
"Feeling?"
"A transcendent cognitive stance," Reed said, "carried out entirely beyond human senses. At the instant I touched it, I could feel the emotions within the power."
"What were they?"
"Love," Reed traced his finger on the table, head down, "The one who gave you this power loves you dearly."
Batman silently withdrew his fist and then said, "Then why do you say it's entirely opposite to me?"
"Because your love isn't like that," Reed shook his head, "You are entirely different."
Batman remained silent for a moment before saying, "That's what he wants."
"Can I meet him?" Reed stared into Batman's eyes and said, "I think I would really get along with him. We could discuss..."
"Stop!" Shiller quickly interrupted him, "No way."
"Why?" Reed kept staring into Shiller's eyes. Those gray eyes were very intimidating to others, as most wouldn't choose to look directly at them, but Reed seemed oblivious to their effect. Emotionally, he was like a blind man.
"Just no way."
Shiller couldn't possibly say, Anatoli's work is already big enough, and yours isn't small either. If you both get together, will God still have a place?
It's hard to say if the creator ever cared before, but after you both combine efforts, the creator would have to shut down all creator technology overnight.
"Don't even think about it," Shiller repeated, "Besides, he's not the same kind of person as you, it's hard for you two to have meaningful conversations."
"Science itself is a language, regardless of our personality and experiences. As long as we possess the same knowledge, there will definitely be things to discuss. If you don't introduce him to me, that's fine, I can find him myself..."
Shiller seriously considered whether Anatoli could potentially be found by Reed, and then realized that on Reed's path to finding Anatoli, there was an insurmountable mountain, and that was Batman. Reed should temporarily have no way to deal with Batman.
Feeling slightly relieved, Shiller sat back at the bar. He hadn't expected that just through casual conversation, he stumbled upon such a huge secret.
People always say Stark is ostentatious, having to comment on everything, yet now it seems that people really should be a bit ostentatious. How could Reed keep things hidden for so long without saying a word? Shiller even admired him a bit.
"I'm very curious," Shiller looked at Reed and asked, "Did you really have no intention of deliberately hiding anything?"
"Hide what?"
"The events from when I crossed over."
"That's not a big deal," Reed said, "In fact, after discovering Pikachu was useless, I probably forgot about it in two or three days. If it wasn't mentioned today, I wouldn't have remembered it."
Then he showed a somewhat hesitant expression, glanced at Shiller, and then at the bar.
"Just say it if you have something to say."
"You have to promise not to hold back this time."
"Alright, I promise."
"You're not that important," Reed said, "I admit, you are somewhat special, after all, plunging headfirst like a missile into the cosmic barrier is surprising enough, and you can directly compile cosmic data, which was indeed fascinating to me at the time."
"However, not everyone remains in the phase of playing with toy cars forever, even if the toy car's paint job is very flashy. But I have more important things to do, like advancing from primary school to high school, graduating college, pursuing a PhD, continuing my research, and fulfilling my career. It's natural for toys from long ago to be forgotten in a corner."
"Bang," Shiller threw another punch at him.
"Didn't I say I wouldn't hold back this time?!"
"Reed Richards," Shiller extended a finger and said, "It's the first time I've ever told someone so seriously, you're really quite rude."
"Sorry, but you're not the first to say that to me." Reed touched his bruised cheek and then said, "I know I come off harsh, but I can't help it."
"But I remember teaching you some speaking techniques."
"Precisely because you taught them, I didn't use them, because you can instantly see through them." Reed shook his head and said, "Also, lying to a psychiatrist is not a good habit. They all say this."
Shiller was momentarily speechless. He took a sip of wine, then said, "So you simply forgot."
Reed nodded and said, "When I saw you again later, I didn't immediately recognize you. As you know, seeing with that perspective is different from seeing the real you in reality. If I hadn't encountered Pikachu afterward, I might not have recognized you."
Reed pointed to his own head and said, "There's too much to store here. If I were to shape my own Psychic_Battlefield using your spiritual form, then the tower would keep extending upward endlessly. Even though I'm the only resident within this tower, all the rooms need to store knowledge, until one day, like a nail, it pierces through my skull, grows out, and reaches the sky."
This metaphor was so vivid that Shiller almost immediately conjured up its imagery. He now wanted not just to throw a punch at Reed, but to throw him straight out of the tavern.
"However, now you've become important again," Reed said, "Although I don't think my plan needs a backup insurance, I really don't want to deal with Stark's madness. I can tell him, my insurance measure is you— even if the entire Human race gets erased, you won't be, and then you can turn the tide. Sure enough, he stopped bothering me."
"I hope that's true and not something you came up with just to placate Tony," Shiller said, looking into Reed's eyes.
"It's definitely true," Reed also looked into his eyes and said, "Although I indeed want to brush off Stark, if not even I can compile you, then absolutely no one can. I can guarantee that 100%."
Shiller looked at Reed. It's extraordinary because it's difficult to sense emotions like arrogance from his eyes, even with the Psychoanalysis Method, his arrogance is almost imperceptible.
In some respects, Reed is a very pure person. He judges everything by his own standards, what's useful to him is important, what's not, isn't.
It's difficult to forget someone like Shiller, but Reed naturally seemed to have forgotten it all. Shiller could tell he wasn't lying. That pivotal day was merely an insignificant part of Reed's mundane and tedious research routine, fleeting and vanishing.
In Reed, Shiller felt what others may have felt about him— as though what's in front isn't a person but a concept— representing knowledge, science, endless exploration.
Humans always feel small when facing grandness. In that moment, Shiller heard the engine roar begin to quiet down, the parts' rotation slowing, tranquility ensuing.
For Shiller, this was quite a novel experience. His indescribable massive thoughts began to converge toward one point, then slowly, slowly, truly projected onto what he was currently doing, as if an estranged soul suddenly returned to its place.
Shiller picked up his glass and took a sip, pursed his lips, looked down at the glass, whispered to himself, "...so this is the taste."