Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4442 - 3527: Research on Cats and Dogs (38)

Batman stepped out of the car and saw Superman being escorted out of the police station by several officers. His expression looked dejected, with a touch of helplessness.

The last time Batman saw Superman with such an expression was probably ten years ago. Back then, he was still a naive small-town boy who knew nothing about upper-class society and couldn't recognize any brands of clothing Bruce Wayne wore. At that time, he would occasionally show this kind of expression when facing Batman.

Batman quickly approached and gestured for the officers to step away. Superman regained a bit of composure and immediately grabbed Batman, saying, "Don't worry, it's just routine questioning. Since I was there at the time, it's only reasonable they ask about the specific situation."

"But you weren't the only one there. The whole police station was filled with officers, yet someone went missing, and it's blamed on you..."

"They're not blaming me." Superman lightly pushed Batman, then used his burly frame to block Batman's gaze, nodding politely at the officers to send them off.

"Don't be like that, Bruce." Superman put an arm around his shoulder, turned away, and explained, "I swear it was just routine questioning. I told them everything I knew. They were very polite and didn't intend to accuse me. After all, it's not my responsibility to help them look after criminals."

"They're treating you like a potential accomplice." Batman remarked with significant dissatisfaction. "They simply refuse to believe that you genuinely don't know where Jonathan went."

Superman sighed softly and said, "It does seem suspicious, even to me. I can't blame them for overthinking. I truly didn't see where Jonathan went. In my memory, he never even left the room."

"It doesn't matter. As long as he didn't vanish into thin air, we can definitely find traces. The key point is, did he leave of his own accord, or was he taken away by someone else?"

"I doubt Scarecrow could conceal this from me. It must have been someone who took him away. But what are they planning to do?"

Batman and Superman got into the car. Superman turned to Batman and asked, "What's your next step?"

"Jonathan's disappearance is too bizarre. We have to investigate further. Even if they've managed to obscure the truth from you, there must still be traces left behind. I need to access the surveillance footage around the police station to see where they went."

"Are you going to Wayne Manor?"

Batman nodded silently, focusing on driving as his mind dwelled on Jonathan's motives or those of whoever might have abducted him.

If Jonathan is indeed the professor, the kidnapper's intention, apart from threatening the Justice League, is likely to extract some secrets from him. What secrets might Gotham hold?

Batman didn't believe the city harbored any earth-shattering secrets. Even the Court of Owls should be irrelevant to aliens fixated on invading Metropolis. Their core objectives are entirely different, with no basis for cooperation.

If it's not some faction, then it could be some object. And it would have to be something useful for bypassing the Justice League's defenses. Could it be Kryptonite?

But Kryptonite isn't unique to Gotham. And if the visitors are Kryptonians, using it would harm themselves almost as much as their enemies—it wouldn't make sense.

Batman recollected that this universe wasn't quite like theirs. The Justice League's defensive methods here were far more diverse and undoubtedly formidable. The invaders have been probing for so long without finding any major vulnerabilities.

Perhaps the invaders, unable to launch a direct attack, were resorting to underhanded tactics?

The car soon arrived at the gates of Wayne Manor. Batman got out, and Superman turned to him and said, "Aisha seems to be in her room. Should we call her down?"

"I'll message her." Batman pulled out his phone and said, "I promised to play on the slide with her just the other day."

Before long, a small figure shot out like a cannonball. Batman opened his arms to catch Aisha, stroked her head, and said, "Did I interrupt your nap?"

"No, I was playing with my toys." Aisha shook her head and said, "Finally, you're here. Dad's not home, and there's no one to braid my hair for me."

"Doesn't your mom braid it for you?"

"She does, but she always adds too many gemstones, which makes it hard to move around."

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Aisha shifted closer to Batman's shoulder, speaking softly to him. The three entered Wayne Manor together.

Alfred didn't seem to notice that the Bruce who had arrived wasn't the local Bruce. He smiled and nodded at Batman before heading off to prepare tea and snacks.

Batman placed Aisha on the sofa and asked, "We want to access the police station's nearby surveillance footage. Where should we go for that?"

Aisha took a bite of a cookie and said, "You're looking for the Batcave, aren't you? In that case, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. My dad doesn't even have a Batcave."

"That doesn't come as a surprise," Superman said. "He gave up being Batman ages ago. The Batcave is probably abandoned by now."

"However, the office in the Wayne building has equipment for accessing Gotham's surveillance footage. It's independent of the police system and is unlikely to be tampered with. If you want to view it, you can go there."

"Are you okay with us looking at it?" Batman asked Aisha.

"I want to know why you're looking at it," Aisha replied.

Batman briefly recounted Jonathan's disappearance to Aisha. Her brow furrowed tightly.

Seeing her mimicking an adult's serious expression, Batman couldn't help but pat her on the head, only for his hand to be smacked away. Aisha pouted and said, "Don't interrupt my thinking!"

Batman and Superman burst into laughter. Superman elbowed Batman and said, "You really should have a daughter; she's absolutely adorable."

"You should have one with Lois," Batman retorted. "She'd be just as endearing if she took after her."

"I think I know now." Aisha said.

"You're letting us access it?"

"No, I mean, I think I know where their next move will be." Aisha lifted her head to look at Batman.

Batman's eyes widened slightly as he stared at Aisha. She sighed and said, "You don't understand. This universe of ours is very special—Batman isn't the only difference here."

"Do either of you know magic?" Aisha asked.

Batman and Superman exchanged a glance, then shook their heads in unison. Aisha sighed, feigning sadness, but internally thought to herself, "Perfect, I can just make things up."

"There's a magic academy in Gotham."

Aisha's first statement was a bombshell, but the next one was even more shocking.

"Our Gotham is split into two worlds—the outer world, which is the real world, and the inner world, which is the magical world. Any proposed improvements for the outer world are tested in the inner world first. The inner world also houses many mages and magical creatures."

This revelation seemed to short-circuit both Batman's and Superman's mental processors. Batman took a while to finally say, "Sounds like some sort of... video game setup."

"It's no game—it's real. If you want, I can take you to the inner world to see it. But first, listen to my theory."

Batman hurriedly expressed his attentiveness, offering Aisha a cup of tea. She took a sip, pretending to clear her throat in a mature manner, and began:

"Gotham's inner world has a magic academy called Gotham Magic Academy. It's a magical school that trains mages. Several outstanding graduates are already working around the world."

"Hold on," Batman interrupted. "What kind of work do they do?"

"Not street performances, of course," Aisha replied. "The reason our Earth is so hard to conquer is that years ago, we started constructing the Earth's magical defense network."

"But magic..." Batman hesitated. Though he wasn't versed in magic, he knew enough to understand its limitations—it wasn't equivalently fair for humans. No mage could cover the entire Earth.

"That's why they don't use pure magical energy. Instead, it's mixed energy," Aisha explained. "It's mostly powered by Green Lantern energy, combined with magical energy, and supplemented by forces from other mysterious entities, like All Things Green, angels, and demons."

"This network requires regular maintenance, and ordinary people can't handle this task, which is why a specialized training academy exists. Of course, mages don't exclusively focus on this—they also venture into places like Magic World Maya, other dimensions, and even Heaven and Hell."

From her words, Batman gained an even clearer understanding of just how different this universe was.

It turns out the invaders hadn't been intentionally delaying—they simply couldn't mount a direct assault. The Earth's magical defense network wasn't the sort of thing that a couple of ships could breach. Zod, in this universe, was essentially facing a Hell difficulty scenario.

"Very few people know about this," Aisha said. "It's basically limited to the core members of the Justice League and the professor."

In a flash, Batman realized the meaning behind Aisha's earlier statement—her saying "she knew."

Regardless of where Jonathan was being taken, the kidnapper's goal was unquestionably to uncover weaknesses in Earth's defenses.

Sneaky sabotage to weaken the Justice League's strength was one way, but eliminating their frontline defenses would be far worse.

"Gotham Magic Academy is a crucial node in the Earth's magical defense network and quite possibly the most important one," Aisha said. "If something goes wrong there, the Earth's magical defense network could suffer severe consequences."

Batman shot to his feet, but Aisha tugged his arm to pull him back down, continuing: "To enter Gotham Magic Academy, you must first access the inner world. Transitioning from the outer world to the inner world requires finding the inner world's entry points within the outer world."

"Where are the entry points?"

"There's more than one. Gotham University has one, for instance," Aisha replied, pulling Batman back down again as he tried to rise and continuing, "Entering the inner world from the outer world isn't that simple. You need the correct method and proper permissions."

"What permissions?"

"New visitors must be escorted into the inner world by someone who's been there before. After registering, they can independently travel between the two worlds. Without a guide, even knowing the method won't get you in."

Just as Batman relaxed slightly, Aisha added, "However, many people have entered the inner world. For example, several professors at Gotham University also teach introductory courses at Gotham Magic Academy."