"Taken by someone else?" Superman asked incredulously, "Don't you guys have a system to bind these things? Can anyone just take them?"
"Of course not," Shiller said, "Generally speaking, not only can't they be taken, but they can't even be seen. If you're not the owner of the invitation, you can't access it at all."
"Then why did you say it was taken? What's going on?"
"But if the person isn't just anyone, then that's a different story," Shiller said, "The production team can see everyone's invitations and take them, but they don't need to do that. I asked them, and no one took your invitation."
"Then who could it be?"
"At the very least, it would have to be a universe administrator on the same level as the production team, someone with the power to interfere with the rules of the universe."
"I get it," Superman said without a second's hesitation, "Papetua, it has to be her."
"She contacted you?"
"She's the one who sent me here," Superman said, "I don't know what's wrong with the Origin Wall, but I suddenly fell off, and for some reason, I ended up outside. A woman claimed to be the Creator Goddess and said if I wanted revenge, I should listen to her, and then I ended up here."
"She said she ran into me unexpectedly, but if she took the invitation, she must have been targeting me for a while. I always knew she wasn't trustworthy, but I needed a way back, so I chose to cooperate with her."
Shiller nodded. Superman, somewhat surprised, said, "Aren't you going to scold me? I cooperated with that person."
"If you knew my list of collaborators, you'd be the one scolding me," Shiller said casually, "Anyway, how much funding did you ask for?"
"What?"
"She's letting you operate inside the Origin Wall, she should at least give you some funding, right? ... Not even a salary? So you're working for free?"
Superman's expression went blank for a moment, "But she said she'd help me with revenge."
"She hasn't even helped you with revenge, but you've already worked for her. Doesn't that mean you've been working for free?"
Superman's expression turned a bit scrambled, "Is that so?"
"You really lack social experience," Shiller sighed, "But then again, being away from home for so many years, never having a proper job, it's about time someone taught you some labor law basics. First, working at a legitimate company means you should receive a salary. Have you ever been paid for helping the Justice League?"
"Batman mentioned something about money to me. I didn't care; I don't need money," Superman said, somewhat troubled.
"Batman probably saved it for you. If you want it, just ask him. But don't go right now, they're busy, and if you show up, they'll definitely make you work."
"I'm not going again," Superman shook his head vigorously, "I don't want to deal with them anymore, or I'll end up hung on the wall again."
"Money may be useless to you, but what about energy? Magic? Superpower?"
"Uh, I'm immune to magic," Superman said proudly, "Other Supermen can't say that, even Batman was a bit surprised."
"What I mean is using magic yourself," Shiller tapped the table gently, "A Creator Goddess that big, can't she give you some magic energy to become a magician?"
"Makes sense," Superman nodded, "I've always wanted to be a magician, I've never been one before."
"If you became a magician, you'd have a lot of work to do. If you don't ask for more energy now, imagine running out of energy halfway through a spell, that'd be embarrassing! Even Batman would laugh at you."
Superman nodded forcefully, "True. When my parents went hiking, they never brought enough water, and I always had to get it for them midway..."
Mentioning his family made Superman a bit sad, and Shiller continued, "Also, she should give you some access privileges, otherwise, how will you find your way home?"
The mention of this made Superman anxious, "How did you find your way home?"
"I haven't found it yet," Shiller said, "But Anatoli did, though his way of finding things isn't very civilized..."
Shiller briefly explained how Anatoli acquired the power to roam the cosmos, leaving Superman in a daze.
"I'll stop calling him barbaric," Superman said quietly, "Turns out he was quite gentle with me."
"You called him barbaric?" Shiller said, surprised, "He saved your friend, even if he forced you to read some comics, I wouldn't call that barbaric."
"You don't know, he wouldn't leave unless I finished reading, he even followed me to the bathroom..."
"That's not a big deal," Shiller said, "He didn't hit you, did he?"
"Did he hit you?" Superman asked, a bit curious.
"No, he didn't. He's not one to advocate violence or corporal punishment, but I did stand there watching him when I was young."
"Did he learn that from you?" Superman squinted his eyes.
Shiller shifted his gaze.
"But what you said makes sense." Superman thought about it and said, "I was a bit groggy just waking up, didn't think to ask her for anything. Now that I think about it, Batman sends me payments, why should she boss me around for free?"
"Exactly, always ask why." Shiller was clearly quite satisfied. "But don't ask her for the Battleworld invitation, she won't give it to you. If she finds you annoying, she might not give you anything, and that would be a loss."
"Why won't she give it back to me? What's the use of it to her?"
"If she can get an invitation, can't she just sneak in?"
Superman's expression changed: "She wants to sneak into Battleworld? Wouldn't that mean causing trouble?"
"It's not scary if she comes; it's scary if she doesn't." Shiller chuckled, "That's something you don't need to worry about."
"I don't need to worry about anything." Superman complained again, crossing his arms and pouting, "It's like I'm so useless. I've been on that wall for years; nothing involves me anymore."
"That's not right. The show has just begun." Shiller comforted him, "Had you gone through all the buildup before, you surely wouldn't have had the patience. Coming now, you've just arrived in time for the climax."
"Really?" Superman asked, "And the First Lantern? Where is he? Can I meet him?"
"He probably doesn't have time." Shiller said, "The Creator Goddess didn't bring you to this cosmos for a vacation, right?"
"Probably not, but she didn't say why she brought me here either." Mentioning the Creator Goddess made Superman speechless, "This woman, I don't know if she's crazy, or has intelligence issues, she can't speak clearly. I asked her what to do, she said you'll know when it's time. I asked what to do, she said figure it out yourself."
"Bosses like that are no good," Shiller said, "No clear targets, leaving all the thinking to the employees themselves. When you mess up, they'll say it's your incompetence. Way worse than Batman."
"So true." Superman nodded vigorously, "Batman likes to order me around too, but at least he explains clearly what I'm supposed to do. Even when he's telling me not to talk, he can interrupt me and clearly stop me. That Creator Goddess, she says nothing. If I actually do nothing, she'll scold me for being useless."
"If you ask me, don't exert yourself too much, just put on a show to get some funding. Eventually, you'll still have to work for Batman. If you mess things up too badly and get caught by Batman, your background check won't pass."
"You think I can still work with Batman?" Superman sighed, "I caused a lot of trouble back then, or else I wouldn't have been imprisoned. This batch of Batmen may not know, but they can still find out."
"That's indeed a bit tricky," Shiller thought for a moment, "No worries, if it doesn't work, I'll refer you internally. If I can't get you in, Anatoli can put you through. His connections should be strong enough."
"You don't understand Batman." Superman waved his hand, "He's stubborn. If he doesn't want to use someone, no one can recommend them."
"There are other ways," Shiller lowered his voice, "Wouldn't you consider changing your identity? After all, if every Superman looks the same, you could claim you're a bumpkin from the Edge Universe instead of a released convict, right?"
Superman's mouth opened slightly: "Would that work? I can't fool Batman, can I?"
"The key to deception isn't not being exposed, because if it's fake, exposure is inevitable. It's that even if others know it's fake, they still have to turn a blind eye."
Shiller said mysteriously, "You haven't heard, have you? Someone has impersonated Batman and already blended in with Batman."
This time Superman was truly shocked: "Impersonating Batman to blend in with Batman? Can that really be done?"
"Not only has it been done, it's been successful." Shiller laughed, "Don't worry, cheating Superman is much easier than Batman. If they find your resume's fake, at worst you'll be kicked out, but they can't kill you."
Superman nodded, clearly deep in thought, evidently learning something. Then he looked at Shiller again, saying, "We've been chatting for so long, I still don't know your name?"
"Schiller Rodriguez. The name doesn't matter," Shiller said, "The profession is psychiatrist. As for superpowers, I've got them, but they're not strong; I rely mainly on brains."
"I knew it." Superman laughed brightly, saying, "I knew you're just as smart as Batman."
"That's a bit too much praise." Shiller said, "Even if the Creator Goddess didn't give you tasks, you can't really do nothing. Bosses might be troublesome, but before switching jobs, you still need to deal with them. Moreover, you haven't got your salary yet, without any performance, it's tough to ask for pay."
"What should I do then?" Superman pondered as he asked, "She didn't send me here to help you guys, likely wants me to stir things up. Stirring things up I'm good at, but I don't want to really cause trouble, if Batman investigates later, I'm in trouble."
"No need for investigation, Batman will come in a few days too. You better not cross his path." Shiller said, "But doing nothing also isn't good. I think, let's put it this way, you should work with the Assassins' Union."
Superman looked a bit puzzled, "Who?"
"The Assassins' Union," Shiller mused for a moment, then said, "Damian's birth mother is in that organization."
Superman realized: "Now I know what you mean. Collaborating with a villain organization does sound good, on the surface it's like doing bad things, but in reality, just putting up a front. Going to them directly, wouldn't that be too abrupt?"
"Certainly it would, but coincidentally, Talya has been captured by the Rebirth Alliance. You can sneak in and rescue her, handing her over to the Assassins' Union; that would show your sincerity."
"That's not possible, is it? She must have been caught for doing bad things. If I break her out, won't that make me an accomplice?"
"Hence the need to do it secretly. Go at night, move quickly, don't alert the guards, and no one will know you rescued her. They'd probably think Talya escaped on her own, since she's pretty capable."
Superman nodded, "Alright, let's do it."