Heart-to-Heart Talk Between Master and Disciple

On the way to Salem City, Diana clearly had something on her mind but hesitated to speak.

It was Shane who noticed Diana's unease and took the initiative to ask.

"What's wrong, Teacher Prince?"

"Oh, I wanted to tell you not to mind Batman monitoring you—he's always like that, and the things he said too."

Shane raised an eyebrow in slight surprise upon hearing this.

"Mind? Monitoring? What's there to mind about that?"

Diana was a bit stunned. She remembered throwing a huge fit when she'd accidentally found a bug Batman had planted on her.

Slowing her flight speed slightly from its half-length lead, Diana carefully studied Shane's expression.

Seeing that the youth seemed genuinely unbothered, she couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"You've only been on Earth a short while, and you've already discovered something like this. Doesn't this feeling of restricted freedom bother you?"

Shane shook his head without hesitation, thought for two seconds about how to answer, and then a faint smile even appeared on his face.

"I've been on Earth for nearly twenty days now. Excluding the first three days I spent unconscious, whether it was the week recovering from injuries or these eight days I've spent with you, Teacher Prince, it's all felt as pleasant as a vacation to me."

"No training that pushes my body to its limits, no one forcing me to fight to the death with peers or even older warriors."

"No instructors who beat and berate me at every turn."

Shane's gaze went slightly unfocused, clearly sinking into some heavy memories.

"You know, it was only after arriving on Earth that I first heard the word 'vacation.' On Viltrum, time off is a privilege only granted to warriors who have reached at least five hundred years of age and achieved outstanding feats of merit."

"In the first ten years of my life, every day I opened my eyes, all I faced was battle, injury, killing... and the insults and beatings from my instructors."

Diana had indeed treated teaching Shane as just a mission when Bruce first contacted her.

She knew nothing about Shane's past, and over this past week had only trained him as an ordinary young warrior in need of help in certain areas.

For Diana, this week-plus of life felt like a replay of the training and lessons she'd received as a youth on Themyscira.

Only her role had shifted from learner to teacher.

It wasn't until she heard Shane detail his past that shock gave way to a surge of pity in Diana's heart.

"How could such a race exist?"

When she'd first arrived in human society and described life on Themyscira to others, the strange looks on their faces had constantly reminded her how barbaric the Amazonians seemed compared to human society.

Now, Diana felt that same experience firsthand.

Her impression of Viltrum plummeted straight to negative, and she felt even more sympathy for this youth who mostly wore a blank expression.

"So should I be glad you didn't fly into a rage and punch Batman out?"

Shane gave a slightly exasperated sidelong glance, wondering if this world's Diana had some private grudge against Batman.

"Since arriving on Earth, I haven't hidden most of my past or Viltrumite culture. Viltrum is a civilization that treats invading other planets as custom and glory. It's only natural that some Earthlings would be wary of me."

Shane sighed.

"To put it more bluntly, Teacher Prince, I've watched quite a bit about the Justice League's exploits on TV. Your members' personalities come through pretty clearly in most interviews and the press conference when you were founded."

"With all due respect, aside from Batman, most of the Justice League comes across as naive."

"Superman, the Flash, Shazam—they're all the type I could win over just by playing up my hardships. None of them can resist a targeted scheme."

"Aquaman, Green Lantern, and you, Teacher Prince—either you have a people to manage or another organization splitting your attention. None of you can devote your main focus to the Justice League."

Diana instinctively wanted to argue, but Shane's next leap in topic cut her off.

"I read in an old report that Mr. Bruce, who's connected to Batman, was very generous in covering most of the League's expenses. See, even the funding comes from Batman's personal connections."

That statement contained a secret Diana had to keep, leaving her momentarily speechless.

"Funding, planning, communications, base changes, threat alerts."

"In a world-famous organization, all of it is handled by one person."

Diana stared wide-eyed, unable to muster a rebuttal. In fact, two years ago, Batman had been the only one opposed to forming the Justice League.

Now he'd become the core keeping it running.

"It's not just him. Cyborg helps too."

After a long pause, Diana managed a weak retort.

Shane didn't respond this time. He actually had a sharper summary about Cyborg.

Like how someone who commanded cutting-edge cosmic technology ended up serving mainly as a super server and AI.

In this place that claimed freedom of speech, Cyborg hadn't stepped in to control public opinion, and the Justice League got torn apart online.

But Cyborg was also the only member who'd only appeared once publicly since the League's founding two years ago, never showing up again.

To most people, he was still just a cyborg with powerful tech weaponry.

The true scope of Cyborg's abilities couldn't be accessed through ordinary media channels, so Shane had no way to obtain relevant information.

Shane passed through a layer of clouds, exhaling a puff of condensed mist as he spread his hands toward Diana, who was still staring at him.

"I can tell you're both gentle people, so I understand why you find Batman hard to get along with."

"But to me, Batman is just blunt with his words. So far, the impression he's given me is more considerate than the kindest instructor on my planet."

Shane wasn't making that up. From start to finish, Batman had only warned him a few times from an Earthling's perspective—far better than the instructors who'd casually snap his thigh bones.

Diana heard this shocking take on Batman for the first time and grimaced, tugging at a strand of her hair in pain.

"Shane."

"Professor Prince?"

Diana ground her teeth hard.

"If you ever lose your powers someday, I hope you remember to rob a bank in Gotham."

?

A meaningless remark—not worth acknowledging.

Shane descended a bit, focusing on the city's building layout below.

"Are we already in Salem, Professor Prince?"