"That's indeed possible," Victor said. "Actually, after discovering your memory loss, I occasionally wondered if you might have lost more, perhaps more mental issues that I haven't found, which is why I hurriedly took you to see a doctor."
"Did the doctor say it's okay?" Alberto looked at Cobblepot and said, "Maybe you should find another one to take a look..."
He paused for a moment, glanced at Shiller. It seemed few psychiatrists could be more professional than Shiller. But Shiller never showed too much concern, even showing more worry for him and Evans than for Cobblepot, proving that Cobblepot indeed had no major issues.
"I think we'd better not always focus on analyzing how a mental patient thinks," Tim said. "Based solely on the outcome, he doesn't quite trust you, which could be due to something you did on the day of the incident, and he might, for this reason, distrust, or even harm others."
"We need to figure out what part triggered him," Tim paused and then continued, "Did you do anything in public? Or say anything?"
"There was no public scene," Cobblepot said. "I own listed companies; if it's discovered that I was seeing a psychiatrist, the group's stock price would definitely plummet. So we arranged a private meeting with acquaintances; no one should know."
"That's not necessarily the case," Ethan said, "Other doctors and nurses in the hospital aren't blind; if you weren't present during working hours, they'd surely notice."
"But how would Edward find out? He's always in the ward; there shouldn't be any doctors or nurses telling him about it."
"Unless he was already watching that side," Tim said, "Proving that the person he considers an enemy, most likely to trigger him, could very likely be a doctor working in that office, might even be the doctor you went to see."
Cobblepot paused and then said, "Impossible, the doctor I went to see was Edward's attending physician, Brand."
Tim frowned. Cobblepot said, "What I might have is also hereditary, pathological mental problems, and Doctor Brand happens to be an expert in pathology. His treatment for Edward has been quite effective, and Edward likes him very much. That's why I went to him. If he provokes Edward's hostility, he wouldn't be Edward's attending physician."
Tim couldn't refute, so he said, "Then it should be Brand's colleague, who works in the same office and has a good relationship with him."
Cobblepot seemed to start searching for possible candidates in his mind, saying, "That makes it too many, there are eight doctors in Brand's office, and Arkham Mental Hospital does rotate rounds, so everyone has interacted with Edward, all potentially causing his hostility."
"Then let's try to contact these eight doctors," Ethan's solution remained simple, "Narrowing down to eight makes it easy to check, and if anyone goes missing, they are highly likely the victim."
"But the nurse's station is also nearby," Cobblepot added, "And nurses are more likely to interact with Edward and could potentially trigger his hostility."
Ethan had a headache, saying, "I feel all the reasoning we're doing now is ineffective because there's no evidence proving Edward committed the murder, and we're investigating hypothetical hypotheses."
"There's no better direction," Tim said, "At least Edward's disappearance is suspicious and definitely related to the case; he is a breakthrough. Let's start with the doctors, Brainiac."
Brainiac quickly went off to contact those eight doctors, though this clearly required some time as the storm outside not only hadn't subsided but had intensified. Hurricane season is always hard to endure, and this time is no exception.
The reasoning had reached this point, almost entirely castles in the air, with no substantial evidence supporting it. Guessing Edward's outbreak situation was already like filling the conversation with nonsense, and continuing further seemed meaningless.
But just waiting here would be even more boring. Ethan asked the question he'd been curious about for a long time: "What exactly is the grudge between you two?"
He looked at Tim and Alberto. Without a doubt, the two had been at each other's throats since entering and seemed to have quite a history.
"I went to Italy for further studies," Tim had no intention of hiding it, "At an art exhibition, I met Evans, though it's not really 'meeting' but 'reuniting'. I had seen him long ago but was too young to remember him clearly."
"He's someone deeply passionate about art, knowledgeable about opera and painting, and I just happened to go to Florence to study murals. We actually got along well, later attending other exhibitions and opera performances together."
"But suddenly one day, he told me he couldn't come because his brother had business to attend to. I knew they shared a body, so I understood. After that, I didn't see him for a long time, and when I saw him again, I found he was in a bad state, having lost a lot of memories."
"I was very worried about him and suspected his brother had something to do with it..."
"Wait a minute," Ethan interrupted him, "Why would you suspect that? Why would a brother harm his own sibling?"
"Alberto doesn't like me," Tim said, "He thinks I'm a psychopathic person intentionally approaching his brother."
Ethan opened his mouth, looked at Alberto. Alberto stared at Tim and said: "Whether intentional or not, I have no evidence, but can you say you're not a psychopath?"
"If you're referring to the murder at the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, I was just doing what a detective should do. I admit I might seem a bit heartless when fully focused on a case, but I was only doing the right thing."
"Stop a moment," Ethan interrupted again, looking at Alberto, "So you saw him investigating a case and thought he seemed like a psychopath who enjoys handling corpses, which made you dislike him."
Then he looked at Tim: "Because he doesn't like you, you suspect he tampered with your and Evans' memories, blocking your social interactions."
"Not just that," Tim said, "After he resurfaced, Evans was in a terrible state. I don't believe he didn't know, yet he still continued to possess the body."
"That doesn't justify your attack on me," Alberto retorted, throwing another bombshell, "What kind of righteous detective would trick me out in my brother's name, knock me out, and try to hypnotize me?"
"Don't overestimate yourself; I didn't intend to hypnotize you," Tim replied without lifting an eyelid, "I needed to check Evans' condition and confirm whether there was a real risk of disappearance. The situation is grim, I told you."
"It would have been better if you didn't tell me with a gun to my head."
Shiller couldn't help but glance at Tim. Tim, however, snorted coldly, "Did the Mafia not notice my gun when they searched my house?"
"Wait," Victor interrupted, "Are you two living in some world unknown to me, a world without Brainiac? How could he allow you two to do such things?"
"I also don't allow you to leave the protection zone, don't allow you to get involved in murder cases, don't allow you to throw corpses into the lake and pollute the water body, don't allow you to summon Outer Gods by the cliff, but in reality?" Brainiac also snorted coldly.
Victor touched his nose. Brainiac didn't allow him to give ice to Cobblepot, yet he did. He had developed certain insights on how to break Brainiac's rules without facing repercussions.
The truth is, good guys are always the ones with a gun pointed at them. But in the game with madmen, Brainiac is the good guy, and these people have countless ways to bypass Brainiac's hindrances. Human imagination in recklessly going insane is always beyond anyone's expectations.
"He tried to stop, but didn't succeed," Alberto said, "There's no Mob in Italy now, just a group of helpful uncles and elders."
"Alright," Ethan said, "Since both of you intended for Evans' well-being, why make it come to this? With the effort you're spending on each other, you might have already found a way to save him."
Neither spoke again, and the atmosphere became heavy once more. Shiller looked at Tim. Growing up almost free from Batman's interventions, Tim Drake proved that the part of him resembling Batman was not a mere imitation but inherent.
A person who, at the age of ten, would actively seek out Batman and request to join him could hardly be ordinary. His experiences with Batman in life and death not only boosted his aggressiveness but served as a discipline to curb his arrogance and wildness, guiding him back on track. More akin to Holmes than Moriarty.
Obviously, this cosmos's Tim hadn't practiced self-cultivation. His restraint in Gotham owed to those he cared about here. But leaving Gotham turned into a true casting off liberation. His days in Italy may not have been as warm and peaceful as he shared with others. Daring to wrestle with the Mafia over there, how could it not count as snagging the biggest piece of the pie?
Alberto's concerns weren't unfounded, though as the Holiday Killer, he didn't exactly have the position to criticize Little Batman. Their showdown seemed destined, perhaps making up for Bruce's missing debut battle.
"Do you have any solutions?" Victor asked Ethan.
"I'm unsure if Professor X would be effective," Ethan pondered, "At least in our universe, he achieved remarkable feats, even backing up souls in his Psychic_Battlefield. As long as there's a body, they can be revived at any time. Have you considered separating the two of you?"
Alberto nodded, "We indeed should have separate bodies, but the current issue is Evans is somewhat weak. He might not be able to control an independent body, which could be a burden for him. Otherwise, I'd have already sought the Professor."
"So you're thinking of nurturing his spirit first," Shiller said, "Even if so, you can come to me."
"It's a burden," Alberto furrowed his brow, "To bear another person's spirit and assist in repairing damages, possibly overcoming inherent deficiencies, requires immense effort. It's not about your willingness but his."
After speaking, Alberto looked at Shiller again, "He especially doesn't want to see you."
Shiller sighed, "Does he still remember that I was his tutor? He's my student, I naturally should be responsible for him. May I meet him?"
"Of course I'm willing, but if he doesn't resurface himself, I can't force him," Alberto said with a troubled expression, "I can't compel him to come up and control the body; that's the crucial point."
"No need to force him," Shiller said, "I'll go find him."
Those words inevitably sounded a bit shocking. Said by Shiller to anyone, what followed might be a scene from a crime investigation. But Alberto sighed in relief and said, "Evans always looked up to you, Professor. He might not want to meet you because he feels he hasn't accomplished anything and doesn't know how to face you."
Shiller chuckled lightly, "You know, he'll never be the bottom of the pile."
Everyone clearly thought of something, and the atmosphere became lighter. Yet, Brainiac's one statement ended this warm and joyful mood, louder than the thunder outside.
"The victim is Doctor Brand."
"Who?!" Victor shot up from his seat.
"He is the only one among eight doctors who hasn't been reached. Besides, the DNA analysis from the water indicates — the victim is Erigan Brand, Arkham Mental Hospital's attending physician."