After Peter asked that question, both of them froze.
Bruce had realized earlier that earning Penguin's trust would be an important part of his plan, but winning this Penguin's trust would not be so easy.
Bruce knew Oswald Cobblepot from his own universe, but he was younger and did not look much like a psychiatric patient. Bruce did not know Penguin well enough.
If Penguin had been a mob boss for years, or had even become Mayor, then he had to be shrewd and difficult to deal with.
Through his conversation with Penguin, Bruce had already gathered some intelligence about the logic behind his behavior. The opening was not wide enough yet, so he could only continue searching for flaws in their upcoming conversation.
But Peter had suddenly given him a conclusion. How had he reached it?
Bruce asked the question. Even if Peter could not give him a detailed answer, he should at least be able to offer a few keywords.
But Peter hemmed and hawed for a long time before saying, "Um... because penguins."
"Penguins? What about penguins?"
"Well, penguins are social animals. Penguin calls himself Penguin because he longs for the mutual support and affection found among social animals. Um, it reflects that he wants to find a sense of security within a group. He lacks a sense of security."
Bruce's silence was deafening.
"Listen to yourself. Does that make any sense?" Bruce asked.
In truth, Peter had nothing to say either.
There was nothing wrong with the logic of association itself, but if a conclusion rested on association alone and had no hard evidence, how was it any different from blind guessing?
Neither of them could answer that question.
Bruce and Peter both had very typical scientific personalities. The defining trait of such personalities was that