The Primary Universe Batman, clad in the Hell Bat Armor, had just sat in the Batmobile when he received a call from his father, Thomas.
"Oh God, Little Bruce, how long has it been since you last returned to Gotham? It's complete chaos over here."
"Even worse than during the mob wars?"
Thomas fell silent. He sighed and said, "Everything else aside, the weather forecast says a hurricane is set to make landfall tonight. The city's power equipment needs maintenance. All the technical workers from Wayne Enterprises have been dispatched, but it still isn't enough. Are you really unable to come back for a bit?"
"Sorry, but I really can't leave." The Primary Universe Batman glanced at the key in his hand that led to Mount Olympus and said, "Any movement at Arkham Asylum?"
"No, it's been quite calm there. With you not around, those super villains are all behaving themselves in the asylum. That's the only good news."
"Alright, then let's make sure they aren't idle either. They're all PhD holders on average, maintaining a power supply system should be manageable, right?"
"What?" A voice of disbelief came from Thomas, "You mean to have those madmen at Arkham Asylum handle the impending hurricane?"
"What else? I'm here traversing universes, busy out of my mind, and they're happily playing cards in the asylum?"
"But... how do you plan to give them orders? Are you going to call them?"
"No need, I have my ways. I have to hang up now."
After hanging up, the Primary Universe Batman first called Nightwing. When he picked up, Nightwing seemed to know what he was about to say and stated, "Sorry, Batman, the underground water system in Brude Haven is terrible. Every time there's a heavy rain, it floods. I have to prepare for flood prevention, so I really can't help in Gotham."
"Oh, that's alright. What about Jason and Tim?"
"Both of them are already in Gotham, one's organizing the mob for flood prevention, the other is stationed at the power center. Cassandra and the others are at the docks. If you're looking to find someone else to do something, it might have to be the Gordons."
The Primary Universe Batman knew very well that the Gordons were unavailable too. They're busy dealing with the aftermath of a series of murders and tracking down that mysterious electronic life form. The Primary Universe Batman couldn't help but sigh.
The unique status of his universe, although beneficial for gaining leadership within the Multiverse, bears its own deep-rooted Gotham curse. No sooner do a few days go by without incident when disasters, natural and otherwise, stack up, making it overwhelming to handle.
This hurricane making landfall may seem like just another natural disaster, but Gotham faces ten or so hurricanes annually. Any hurricane approaching the East Coast, regardless of its previous trajectory, always veers toward Gotham when nearing the shoreline. Gotham is relatively experienced in dealing with these kinds of disasters.
But there's a problem: a mysterious electronic life form is lurking in the city, having previously used murder cases to disrupt the higher echelons, attempting to divert Batman's attention. If it causes trouble at a critical moment, a seemingly ordinary natural disaster could escalate into a massive catastrophe.
The Primary Universe Batman pondered briefly before dialing Arkham Batman and said, "Where are you now? Are you free?"
"I'm at the Green Lantern Corps' Outpost." Arkham Batman's voice was slightly muffled, he said, "I want to observe the Corps' structure to see if there's any opportunity."
"How's Gotham on your end?"
"Not bad. I'm the president, and have great power. That electronic life form is afraid of being found by me, so it only dares to make small moves and can't invade magical or emotional spectrum energies. Currently, not much is happening."
"Alright then, lend me your Agent Schiller. Whatever you've promised him, I'll cover half the salary, plus an additional twenty percent transfer fee, how's that?"
"What do you need him for?"
"A hurricane will hit Gotham tonight, and I'm worried that the electronic life form will make a move. I'll need to set things in place first."
"Alright. But why not have Natasha, who's been to your side, handle it instead?"
"The tasks I need Agent Schiller to perform are a bit specialized; it can be said they're very well-suited for him, and he's particularly suited to this work."
"No problem, I'll give him a call immediately."
After Arkham Batman hung up, he called Shiller. About half an hour later, Shiller appeared at the entrance of the Main Universe Gotham Police Department. James Gordon, who came out to greet him, was momentarily stunned by his much younger looking than Dr. Shiller.
Now, anyone who has encountered the Multiverse or heard about it assumes that individuals who share an identity but look slightly different are counterparts from different universes. For every Multiverse out there, there's a counterpart in varying ages and eras, some old, some young, which is completely normal.
However, Gordon quickly realized further differences. This young Shiller in front of him didn't bother with pleasantries. He stepped forward to shake hands and then said, "Give me a car, where is the FBI base?"
"Uh, so you're an agent?"
"Yes," Shiller nodded and said, "I'm aware Gothamites don't like outsiders meddling, but this situation is different. To tackle the upcoming hurricane landfall, coordination with the State Police and the FBI is indeed necessary."
"You've misunderstood one thing, Mr. Agent. It's not that Gothamites are hostile to police and law enforcement, it's that they're too frightened to enter. Spend some time here, and they'll end up deranged. Bearing weapons, they'll certainly cause a major problem if any trouble arises. The Federal Government wants no involvement, hence no base here."
Gordon paused for a moment and said, "But you're right, with such a widespread natural disaster, we should indeed call in the state police for help. But don't count on the FBI; the hurricane affects many important cities on the East Coast, and they might head to Chicago or Boston."
"Alright, then give me a car. I need to go to Arkham Asylum."
Shiller got into the car Gordon had prepared for him, a standard vehicle used by plainclothes police, but with police lights inside that could be turned on for enforcement when necessary. There weren't many cars on the road at this time, so Shiller didn't turn on the police lights.
He drove all the way to Arkham Asylum. At this time, the director of the asylum was still Victor Hugo. Shiller showed his credentials at the front desk and was led to the director's office by the assistant.
"Let's be brief. Batman is very dissatisfied with the current state of Arkham Asylum. You must make immediate adjustments, or else funding will be cut starting next quarter until the board and management are reorganized."
Hugo looked at Shiller, momentarily stunned. After hesitating for a bit, he asked, "What is Batman dissatisfied with?"
Hugo wasn't pretending to be oblivious; he really didn't know. Although he wasn't a good person, at least he was sane. He knew that Arkham Asylum had been unusually peaceful recently, with all the supervillains in a sort of retirement state, either sleeping in their rooms or playing cards in the activity club, with the biggest conflicts arising from wins and losses in card games. What could Batman possibly be dissatisfied with?
"Do you know what Batman is up to right now?"
Hugo shook his head. He didn't know that either. If Batman were in Gotham, he might have some idea, but cosmic affairs were a bit too distant for Gotham's supervillains.
"In the past week, he's ended an interstellar war, conquered Oa Star, where the Guardians of the Universe reside, created a Super Lamp Furnace for storing energy, and commanded the Justice League to move the Power of Seven Lanterns from Oa Star back to Earth, modified the Hell Bat Armor, and went to Paradise Island to obtain the key to Mount Olympus, and now he's probably negotiating with the gods on Mount Olympus."
"Oh." Hugo let out a syllable, then said, "That's Batman's usual standard. And then?"
"He can't stand you idle folk now." Shiller walked to the chair by the window and sat down, crossing one leg over the other, placing his elbow on the table, and said sideways, "He's busy running around the cosmos, while you're here going to bed early and waking up early, playing cards every day. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Shiller's attitude was so unabashedly righteous that Hugo was momentarily stunned, even genuinely reflecting on this internally, before suddenly snapping out of it and saying, "This is a psychiatric hospital. All the residents here lack full civil capacity. Besides sleeping early, waking early, and receiving treatment, what else should they be doing?"
"Alright, Director, let's not beat around the bush. I am very aware of their actual capacities, and I know whether or not you have the ability to make them more capable. I've conveyed Batman's message; if you have any complaints, save them for the shareholder meeting when he returns. Hopefully, by then, you won't just receive a notice of your dismissal."
Shiller slapped the table, stood up, and turned to walk towards the door. Hugo quickly called after him, "Wait! Is this really Batman's intention?"
"Do you need me to have him call you?"
"No, no." Hugo paused, unable to help but exclaim, "God, there's actually a day Batman willingly released the Joker."
"Their freedom doesn't come without a price. Batman can control the Arkham Asylum security system to release the patients whenever he wants. Your role is to make sure they know what to do."
"So what exactly do they need to do?" Hugo couldn't help but ask. He couldn't imagine what situation Batman was facing that required these madmen from the asylum to go out and help. Could the universe really be on the brink of destruction?
"Don't you watch the news?"
Hugo was stunned again. Of course, he watched the news, not only daily but from start to finish, yet today's morning news didn't report anything major.
"Hurricane Anola is about to make landfall," Shiller said.
"So, will it blow the entire Atlantis civilization onto the land?" Hugo asked tentatively.
Shiller sighed, slightly impatient, "Why haven't you understood yet? The key is not what they need to do but to ensure they aren't idle!"
"If the goal is to keep these madmen from being idle, why did Batman bother to capture them in the first place?" Hugo asked again.
"That was then; this is now." Shiller shook his head and said, "I don't have time to waste words with you here. Get what you need to handle sorted out. Before the hurricane hits, not a single person in this asylum should be idle. Understood?"
"Not at all." Hugo didn't want to answer this way, as it made him seem dim-witted and lacking comprehension, but he truly couldn't understand.
Or rather, he knew what he had to do, but he couldn't comprehend Batman's motivation. Of course, he wanted to understand the motivation, if not to persuade those madmen, then because he found Batman intriguing. He wanted to know what caused such a significant shift in Batman, perhaps a side effect of being a psychiatrist.
"You need to explain to me in more detail how Batman conveyed this order to you. Not that I'm saying you misunderstood him, but according to my research back in the day..."
Before he could finish, a dark barrel of a gun appeared before him. Shiller's gray eyes were faintly visible behind it. "I assume you don't have the superpower to resurrect."
"God, I don't."
"Shut up, and then get to work."
"Okay."