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Batman's frown was hidden behind the whiteouts of his cowl, as he took in the group of people gathered in what Hal had referred to as the 'War Room' of the Justice League's orbiting satellite, Watchtower.
Robin was on his left, not bothering to hide his curiosity as he looked around the room. He could see his youngest protègès fingers flicking as he ran numbers in his head. Saw the way the boy's mouth quircked up at one corner, Robin obviously having figuring out the structural flaws and weaknesses in the room. Just in case they needed to fight their way out. Not that Batman thought they had anything to worry about, they were here on invitation from both Hal, and Superman, afterall, however reluctantly the Kryptonian had given it.
That was the reason behind the Batman's scowling, not because they were in the Watchtower, no. But because of the not so hidden hostility he could see on several of the League members faces, and in the posture of those who had better manners about showing their displeasure.
According to Hal there was a situation brewing that he wouldn't mind some extra hands for. Superman and the other founding members had agreed, but it was not a decision that they and some of the rest of the JLA seemed to be comfortable with.
Which was fine with Bruce. There was a reason he hadn't joined when Superman had asked him all those years ago, and it had nothing to do with the fact that the rest of the League were either Alien, Meta-humans, or gods, nor that he didn't trust their intentions. No, it had everything to do with protecting his newly adopted son at the time. Hiding his identity was easy in Gotham. Having Batman and Robin work outside of their crime ridden cesspool, would have brought too much unwanted scrutiny.
He had debated joining after Dick had moved on from Robin, growing into his own person, outside the Bat's shadow, but then Jason had come to him. This small, malnourished, strong, frightened 11 year old, and he had to, again, think of his growing family's needs first and foremost. He wouldn't change his decisions for anything.
Further musings were put on hold when a door at the far end of the room whooshed open and Hal, currently in Lantern green, entered with Superman and Aquaman on either side.
A hush fell over the room, and Batman only barely kept a smirk from over taking his face, having had long practice at not laughing at his protégés antics with various Rouge's. He could see Hal looking between him and Robin, clearly wondering just where Peregrine had gotten to.
Hal finally let his masked gaze meet that of Batman's, tilting his head to the side in question. Batman couldn't quite help the way his lips twitched, but did mange to keep from laughing when Hal buried his face in his hands.
Bruce rather enjoyed being on the giving end of the teasing for once, as Hal moved his fingers out of the way enough to level his own glare at Bruce, though the other man could see the small, fond smile tugging at the Lanterns mouth. It had been his idea after all for one of them to do something to show that their lack of powers wouldn't hinder their ability to contribute to the JLA's mission.
Bruce listened with half an ear as Superman spoke, and he took his own time to glance around the room they were in. Wondering where Peregrine would decide to pop out of. His eldest had vanished as soon as they had reached the Watchtower to go "exploring", as he called it. There were several vents leading into the room that his acrobatic son could use to enter the room by.
His perusal of the room and Superman's speech was cut off by a voice off to Batman's left. "That's all well and good, but what are they doing here?"
The frown that Superman leveled at the speaker was impressive, and Bruce was surprised that a man as genteel and friendly as Clark Kent was, could achieve such an expression.
"Batman and his protégés are here on invitation. We could use the help with whatever this threat is."
"What help could they possibly be? From my understanding they have no meta-human abilities, nor are they from another race of beings, like yourself or Hawk-Girl."
Robin snickered, hiding a smirk behind his hand, "True, but I sometimes wonder 'bout Big Wing."
Batman raised a brow at his youngest, and Robin rolled his eyes but remained quiet, long since used to his mentor's terse manner.
The murmuring of agreements that was sweeping through the gathered group was interrupted by a voice above them. "We may not have special abilities, super strength, or magic glowy rings like some of you can boast, but we aren't without our uses or skills." Peregrine hung by his knees from the exposed metal beams that ran the length and breadth of the war room's ceiling, dark hair hanging around his head, a dangerous smile on his face. The dark colours of his suit blending with the darkness above, making it seem as if he was emerging from the shadows. The only thing standing out was the whiteouts of his mask, and the blue of the eagle on his chest.
Hal snorted as the other members of the League tittered and whispered, speculating amongst themselves where the new arrival had come from and how he'd made it into the room unnoticed.
"Where've you been, Feathers?"
Peregrine's smile went from predatory to friendly in a flash. "Exploring. Nifty satellite you guys have, Glowstick. Your security is terrible though, fyi."
A youngish man stepped forward - metal, wiring, cybernetic enhancements making up most of his body - and glared upwards at a still smirking Peregrine.
"Excuse me? It's what? I dare you to come down here and say that to my face."
"Gladly." Peregrine unhooked his legs, twisting and arching his body in a graceful curve, as he flung a line back up using it to slow his descent to the metal floor below. He flicked his wrist once he was a few feet above the ground, the line coming loose and rewinding into the holster on his wrist. He landed on the floor, letting his legs bend, and he rolled twice, before coming to a stop, and stood in front of whom the three Bats assumed was Cyborg.
Dick grinned, wide and mean, and spoke each word as though he was to explain a difficult concept to a young child. "Your. Security. Is. Shit." Cyborg was taller than Dick was, bigger too, but the younger vigilante wasn't intimidated in the slightest. "I could have cracked it at 13." He reached into a compartment on his wrist, and pulled out a small flash drive.
"Here's the info you asked me to get, Boss." He tossed the stick over to Batman who caught it easily. Robin had the decency to cover his mouth, hiding his laughter at his older brother's antics.
And the hall erupted into angry and disbelieving shouts of protest.
Hal just smirked and nudged Superman's arm with his elbow. "Told you I wasn't crazy."
Superman sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yes fine. You were right. Now let's go keep them in one piece, we have a universe to save."