Half an hour later, Victor looked at Billy walking out from behind Shiller's desk and was momentarily lost for words.
"Don't tell me, you've found another monster from some corner, disguised as a human..."
"Rest assured, one hundred percent human," Shiller said, "I know you've always had the intention to adopt, but couldn't find a suitable one. What do you think of him?"
"Well...I have to ask Nora," Victor said as he took out his phone and looked at Billy, "But his background probably isn't that simple, right? What's his story?"
"You should know Shazam, who was really popular online some time ago, right?"
"Are you talking about that superhero? Is this his kid?"
"This is him."
"Huh?"
Shiller briefly explained what was going on with Shazam. The more Victor listened, the more tightly his brows furrowed, and by the end, he was practically speechless.
"What was Old Shazam thinking? How could he hand over such immense power to a child? Isn't he worried something might go wrong?"
Shiller had to explain the grudge between Xi Wana and Old Shazam again. After hearing it, Victor's face turned even darker.
"A famous Grand Mage, yet he treats an ordinary human child with such a harsh attitude. Indeed, the more powerful a person without empathy is, the more they endanger society."
Shiller sighed lightly and said, "When Billy was on the plane, he wanted to open the window and fly out. Fortunately, he didn't succeed."
"You can't blame him for that," Victor said, "He's never been on a plane and couldn't possibly understand the air pressure. Once the flight attendants stopped him, he didn't do it again, which shows he's quite sensible."
"You can discuss it with Nora," Shiller said, "You two should meet the adoption criteria, and you both have high education levels, good financial status, and you understand education, so you should be able to guide him to use this power correctly."
"You know we both intend to adopt, but do you know why we haven't managed to adopt any child yet?"
Shiller looked at him, signaling him to speak his mind.
"We originally planned to have our own. Neither Nora nor I have any physical issues, so if we wanted a child, it would be simple."
"But the problem is, we are both too busy to take care of an infant without interruption, which would delay too many experiments. Neither of us plans to do that."
"And adopting a child is nearly the same. Children who are too young need care, and the law doesn't allow us to leave them home alone. But the formal welfare homes don't have older children available for adoption, as they are adopted when they are still young. So this matter got delayed."
"I think Billy is just right. He's already old enough for elementary school. You just need to send him to school in the morning and pick him up in the evening. Plus, he needs to be with the Young Avengers at night, which should match your schedules."
Victor nodded, patted Billy's head, and said, "Come with me. Let's talk in my office."
They went to Victor's office, and soon Nora hurried over from the lab. She was also surprised when she saw Billy, even more so when she learned he was only eight years old.
"I think the first thing we need to do is take him to the hospital," Nora said very seriously, "His skeletal development might have already been significantly affected. Exposing a developing child to a radiation range without fully understanding the nature of a certain energy is simply criminal!"
"We'd better leave that to you," Shiller said, "The Justice League contacted my friend in Metropolis. They're busy looking for someone, and I need to help, so I might not be able to manage other things recently."
"Then we'll take him," Victor said, "We don't have teaching work recently, so we're not very busy. We can spend more time with him."
Billy was still a bit confused. Shiller turned his office chair around and pulled Billy in front of him, saying, "In the next few days, you'll follow Professor Fries to the hospital for a comprehensive checkup. This is to ensure your health. Also, if you want to transform, you'd better notify Professor Fries, or else the magic energy might damage their house, okay?"
Billy nodded and then looked up at Shiller, asking, "Is their house as nice as yours?"
"Their house is more spacious than mine, but the decoration style is different," Shiller said, "You'll know when you get there."
What Shiller said was true. Victor was never short of money. He had a massive number of cryogenic technology patents, bringing him frightening amounts of income every year.
Compared to Shiller, who still had to look for bargains and consider cost-effectiveness when buying a new house, Victor directly bought a modern villa in the most expensive new villa area in the South District, complete with a swimming pool and garden.
If Billy found Shiller's house luxurious, then Victor's place would probably be like another world.
After sending Billy off, Shiller picked up his phone to check the messages. He wasn't just making an excuse to dump Billy on Victor; he really had things to do.
Someone from the Eleventh Bureau contacted him because Luther hoped the KGB could help find the Martian Manhunter in this universe. The Eleventh Bureau wasn't sure if they should take this task, so they came to ask Shiller.
But in actuality, Shiller was just a titular director who rarely managed any bureau affairs, which were typically organized by the deputy director.
This time, the main reason they sought Shiller's opinion was that it involved the Justice League, and they felt it necessary to consult him.
The Martian Manhunter needed to be found. As a mind power user comparable to Professor X, his addition to the Justice League would significantly enhance their combat power.
Moreover, having a mind power user would make communication much easier in the future, without needing to bring Charles from the different worlds.
Shiller agreed to Luther's suggestion, but the method had to be strategic. Scouring the world like looking for a needle in a haystack wouldn't work. Since the Martian Manhunter's psychic ability was strong, it would be better to let him hear that someone was searching for him and come on his own.
To achieve this, the signal must be sent in a way that the Martian Manhunter can receive. And mind reading is essentially reading brainwaves. As long as widespread brainwaves containing this idea are sent, the Martian Manhunter would naturally know.
Currently, the Eleventh Bureau didn't possess such technology, but Charles was there. He had just helped Magneto test the Cerebro, whose principles were similar. As long as he pitched in, the transmission device could be quickly set up.
It seemed irrelevant to Shiller, but he was actually busy with another matter.
He had noticed that Malafax and Zod seemed to have some out-of-universe knowledge about their cosmos.
For instance, Malafax interfered with Injustice Superman's brainwaves, making him go mad in Metropolis, causing destruction. But in reality, just having an extra Superman in this universe was already odd.
Malafax neither showed shock nor investigated it, but directly took action against him. Isn't that a bit too straightforward?
Even if he were a brute, thinking to strike first without considering which Superman it was, how about Batman?
If Malafax had investigated Gotham's situation, he wouldn't have thought of kidnapping Bruce. Because every Gothamite knows Batman hasn't appeared for a long time, and the tight-suit guy posing on rooftops every day was a thing of the past.
Moreover, as the Gotham renovation project neared completion, Wayne Enterprises wasn't as renowned. And since Thomas Wayne's return, most of the recognition regarding Wayne Enterprises focused on him, not Bruce Wayne.
Except for a few insiders, most people were unclear about Bruce's contributions to Gotham. As for his contributions to the Justice League, they paled compared to Luther's.
In summary, Bruce in this universe wasn't like Batman in other universes, the soul of the Justice League. He didn't even rank in the top three leaders.
Under such circumstances, what would a normal villain do?
Of course, they would go after the real soul, like Oliver.
Oliver's reputation was vastly larger than Bruce's. Just a few tales of his deeds could knock people over. Everyone believed he was the core and real soul of the Justice League.
More importantly, he was merely a human being. Despite professional training, he couldn't compare to the superpower users.
With a crucial yet not-so-strong status, wasn't he an easy target?
Capturing Oliver would significantly impact the Justice League, if not shatter it instantly, dealing a colossal blow to morale. There's no reason not to capture him.
Apart from Oliver, Lex could also be considered an easy target. His status was equally important. Currently, the primary two Justice League operations centers, Luther Group and Luthor Manor, were his properties. If he were captured, wouldn't it be easy to capture others?
Moreover, he was just a regular person, at least publicly. Due to managing the company, he traveled often, making him a walking flaw. Capturing him wasn't difficult.
Even if the two had high-security levels, Arthur was also a good choice. As the nominal ruler of Atlantis, capturing him might provoke a war between Atlantis and humans, flooding cities and effortlessly destroying Metropolis.
Taking a step back, causing trouble in the Green Lantern Corps' territory to distract Hal would significantly weaken the Justice League's defenses.
What gains would there be in dealing with Bruce? He wasn't a mental pillar, didn't support financially, nor did he serve a substantial defense role. Staying at Luthor Manor for a few days nearly caused a near-total annihilation of the Justice League, thanks to that steel-toothed puppy.
Ignoring front-line threats to catch a tank-less support hero made no sense.
Bruce wasn't even a support — not even a red or blue buff, comparable to a jungle minion's niche.
Malafax and Zod acted like AI junglers, clearing jungle camps, staying oblivious despite being constantly busy — not reflecting universe-investigated realities, indicating external factors at play.
Discovering them crossing paths with another authentic Batman suggested Bruce as their prime adversary.
The question remained, where did they encounter the other Batman?