Chapter Text
The Justice League (otherwise refereed to as JL) may not be all that new now days, but they're still getting to know one another. They had all agreed Batman would be the main leader guy if there was ever a need for a leader, with Wonder Woman and Superman being his fallback team if need be.
But that was out of utter fear of the man, they trust him sure, but he's scary as fuck. Like who goes and fights Gotham of all places, ALONE!? And how does he have the time to help with the JL on top of that!?
The man is scary, and Wonder Woman and Superman are quite literally the only ones that have the most courage to question the man. He's rarely ever wrong, it's scary how limitedly wrong he is, it's when he's being a bitch to people that they have to step in and tell him the he was in fact being rude and that he needs to apologize... he never does give a proper apology, nothing more than a "My bad", but that seems to be good enough for them.
Batman is secretive as fuck, the man has gotten multiple injuries in his face and refused treatment souly because he doesn't want to take his cowl off, claiming that he can do it himself at the batcave. Like who does that!? The rest of the JL would wear a disposable domino mask if they ever need to take off their mask and keep their ID hidden whilst dealing with shit. But no, Batman doesn't.
So when Superman brings up the topic of having a meetings dedicated to "getting to know one another" everyone (minus the main 3) were expecting Batman to turn it down or say something about him not attending or participating. But he simply gives his iconic grunt that they have come to agree is (what they believe is) an acceptance grunt.
The paranoid man he is, Batman ends up giving his end of meeting speech, doing what he usually does in summarizing the main points of the meeting and reminding them of the next meeting. But this time he does end off with something they hadn't really expected him to say - seeing as Superman had quite literally came up with the idea on the spot meaning the man had no way of knowing this was going to happen. "The next meeting's main focus will be on getting to know one another. There will only be a slotted 5 minutes per person to give their report on their city, with the remaining time being allocated to 'self introductions'. I don't like wasting time so I would like you all to make your own form of presentation weather it be a PowerPoint, a word document or even just a speech. Make sure you know what you're going to say and reveal before formally introducing yourself and everything will go well. I will be sending an example file type to the work email chain so that you are able to understand the type of information we will be discussing."
It made sense in a way, the man is known for being more than a fan of order, while it was a head scratcher as to how he came up with the exact time allocation of 5 minutes per person would work, they did all understand that it was going to be expected of the man to have a plan for it already.
But then when they show up the following meeting they're greeted with a (more than) fashionably early Batman who has a whole ass timetable spreadsheet for their formal introductions, he even allocated time for questions at the end of each introduction!
As everyone makes their way to their respected seats, Batman is doing a final check over of his PowerPoint before displaying it onto the holographic screens in the middle of the table that have been strategically placed so that everyone can see it without turning their heads or having anyone blocking their view.
There was 11 slides (including the title, summary and ending slides that hold no new information (the last slide just says "Questions")), but they weren't in paragraph format, they were simply dot points that had only the most necessary information involved.
The first slide was simply about the main information, the part that already has Green Lantern writing in the notebook that Batman had handed out so people could write questions to ask at the end, was when he saw that had had added 'Active Since: [redacted]', how is the time he's been active for!? What Aquaman notices is the fact that he has 'Species: Human (Non-Meta)'!? Is he just some guy in a bat suit!?
But they're all too scared of the man to interrupt, they keep it to the confines of their notebook until the man says it's time to ask questions. The next slide is what has Flash witting down in his notebook, the slide is about the mans main threats encountered... he straight up has clowns as it's own category!? All the others listed are like 'Magical anomalies', and 'Organized crime', this man straight up put clowns as it's own category!
Capabilities is the next slide, this one having a list of 7 things... seven! The guy is a man in a bat suit! How does he have 7 special skills!? Wonder Woman is the one to write down to 'ask about training schedule' in her book, wanting to know how the man is able to keep all capabilities polished and refined without overworking himself.
The next slide is about his equipment and assets, this one being the time Green Arrow takes note of the fact the man put not only 'Utility Belt (standard loadout)' but also, 'AI-assisted monitoring network (limited access granted to JL)', because he knows damn well he's seen the man pull out a whole ass bag of sweats for a lost child from his belt when on recon, because that doesn't seem 'standard loadout' at all! And what does he mean 'limited access granted to JL'!? Why!?
And to quite literally nobody's surprise, the man has basically no weaknesses listed, the man put 'Gotham-based obligations restrict constant off-world presence' which really isn't a weakness but a disruption! It can't be used against him! Superman is the one to put that down in his notes, wanting to know why he categorized it as such, it was probably the only thing the man would ever want to press further knowing that Batman is more than protective of his identity.
Shazam was the only one to take note of the fact that on the 'Communication Protocol' he had put 'Emergency Contact: Bat-signal access (last resort, not recommended)' even though nobody is allowed in Gotham... how would they get to the Bat-signal without going into Gotham? He knows that there would be a logical reason, and he's rather scared he's the only one who hasn't made the connection, but he knows Batman would rather stupid questions than not knowing at all.
Availability was a whole other situation though, because not only did Flash make note of the line 'Coverage Backup: Internal systems in place', but so did Green Arrow and Green Lantern, because what does that even mean!?
The following slide was the only slide that nobody had written notes on, it being about boundaries and not being even the slightest bit shocking to see as the man had made sure everyone was aware of it from the moment the JL had been formed. Anyone that sleep walks would subconsciously sleepwalk around Gotham in their sleep because they know not to go in there without permission... in their sleep!
The summary slide - to nobody's surprise was of no use as it was going over what Batman deemed important enough to ensure everyone was on the same page as him, before going to the last slide which was a plain white slide with the word 'Questions' in bold in the middle of it, because why would the man want to make any of his PowerPoint look entertaining in the slightest?
Flash, Green Arrow and Green Lanterns, hands immediately shot up the moment they saw that slide pop up, but of course Batman was expecting questions, there's no way he didn't notice everyone who wrote something writing whatever down at some point within his presentation. So, as he does, he ignores them before going back to the start of the presentation so that he can have the slide up so people can ask their question as everyone else is able to tell what they're talking about.
"Who has questions on this slide?" Flash, Green Arrow and Green Lantern had put their hands down knowing the man would get to them when they needed... but Green Lantern took a hot minute before putting his hand back up joining Aquaman who had raised his hand. "Aquaman."
"You've put down that you're a Non-Meta Human, I'm not against it, but I am wondering how you've decided being a vigilante over being a police or something of the sorts." It was a fair enough question, and it could be passed as too personal, and while it can be, he does have a way around it - it's Batman of course he has a way around it.
"Gotham police are corrupt, everything in Gotham is corrupt, I have money that won't be able to help fix that, so I use my money to fund my Batman gear so that I can deal with the corruption personally." Most of the JL wasn't expecting him to actually respond to it, but there really is no harm in asking, the worst you could get was the Batglare... okay it's a bitch of a glare, but doesn't do physical harm. "Green Lantern."
"Why did you put 'Active Since: [redacted]', I get you're secretive and all, but how is that something you need to hide?" Again, none were expecting an answer, but making sure to pay attention as now was the prime time for learning about the Batman form himself.
"I do not want anyone to be able to track the time I started being active to the time my civilian persona started being fashionably late, randomly disappearing, having injuries that are unexplained and unaccounted for. My civilian persona is well known in Gotham and is often in newspapers like a select few of you, I don't want my identity to be at risk." That was actually not a shock in any way, it was a mix of both revealing and hidden. He was revealing why something was hidden, he rarely explains which is why they didn't press any further.
Going onto the next slide, he looks around the table for a raised hand, only seeing Flash's hand up he nods in his direction, a way of saying 'I give you permission to speak', so the man looks at his notes really quick before speaking up. "Why is clowns it's own category, like I get the other ones are explainable categories, but what's the the clowns one?"
"Gotham isn't normal, we have out own type of rouges, whilst there are only 2 clowns, they are my main threat." He doesn't elaborate before going to the next slide, this was taking longer than he wanted to and it was throwing him off. Wonder Woman was the one to raise her hand at this slide. "Go ahead."
"You've listed 7 different skills, I was wondering how you're able to keep all techniques polished. You've got a lot to do being Gotham's soul protector, aiding in the Justice League as it's main leader, and also doing your civilian duties, I was wondering how you manage to keep on top of all your training and making sure none of your specialties get rusted over time." The only reason he was considering to properly answer the question was because it came from one of the two people his family call 'friends' and one of the two people his family have ushered him into 'getting closer with'.
"Gotham needs me nightly, that is my training, my training is my battles on the field." He says nothing more, him being able to not sleep at all will give him away as being cryptid, so he can't say that the rest of his night is spent training, it was something him and his kids had agreed was a reasonable answer when asked this question. "Any questions for this slide?"
Green Arrow is the one to respond to this, "Okay so I've got 2 questions, you've put that you've got a 'standard loadout' in your utility belt. But what do you consider a 'standard loadout'? I've seen some of the things you've pulled out of there and it isn't what most people would expect."
"Gotham has lots of homeless people, I find it necessary to carry soothing foods to give out on patrol as the Batsuit is designed to scare foes and not sooth civilians." There was no way he could tell them that it started when Dick first became Robin and got peckish when going back to the manor and wouldn't stop complaining about hunger on the way back. "And the other question?"
"You've got, AI-assisted monitoring network written there, which explains a lot of questions I've had in the past about how you know somethings, but the confusing part is that besides it in brackets you've put 'limited access granted to JL', what's with that?" This was going to be a bitch to explain.
"The AI is able to identify anyone on Earth and beings that have been recorded, if it is used incorrectly every bit of knowledge can be leaked and nobody will have any secrets anymore. It is a delicate thing that I cannot allow to be used by anyone else." He also just didn't want anyone to realize that Barbara and/or Tim are real beings and that they are associated with him. "Any questions about this slide will have restricted responses... Superman?"
"Yes, you've put down 'Gotham-based obligations restrict constant off-world presence', but I am confused why that is a weakness." Okay that's really easy to answer, he's glad in times like this that he has his cowl hiding more than just his eyes as he physically (very minimally, but physically none the less) relaxes at hearing the question not being as personal as he was expecting.
"If any enemies come aware of my primary goal of Gotham, they could set a trap there for my immediate attention while diverging the rest of you off world, there could be many reasons for this, the most common one I can think of being that they are trying to get me alone for some form of interrogation or something of the sorts." He knows everyone's identities, which mean she knows Superman is a reporter, and being a reporter at heart he can see that way he is fighting back asking why they would single him out. But he respects Batman's privacy and honestly, he's more than thankful the man not only has a code of conduct, but actually sticks to it 24/7 and not just when he wants to.
The next slide Shazam is the one to ask the question, Batman can sense the hesitation in raising it, he's expecting his question to be one of personal knowledge and is scared to ask, but he still allows him to ask none the less. "You've put 'Emergency Contact: Bat-signal' but one of your main rules is to not go into Gotham. You have put it as a last resort, but how would you prefer we go about that? If the time comes are we allowed in Gotham to get it up or is there an alternative way to have it set up?"
"Everyone in the League has an emergency contact name in their files in the Watch Tower, mine is to the only Gotham Policeman I trust, he is the commissioner of the police department and the founder of the Bat-signal. If you need to come in contact with me and nothing has worked, call him and ask him to turn on the Bat-signal and have him send me over to your location. Give him limited information as I will give a report once I am back as he has a different level of knowledge to you." He could see Shazam taking notes of this, now that he thinks about it, he's been taking notes on everything the man has been saying.
Sure he may be a teenager who goes to school, but he didn't think that he would take his school habits up here, taking notes during meetings like they are class lessons and going through them like homework. His is why he likes Shazam, sure he has his reasons for keeping his ID secret, but he's not bad at it, and he also actually pays attention and wants to know things rather than being bored of the meetings and lectures. He's just a good kid, and if he didn't have his foster father there is no way the man wouldn't adopt him.
The next slide was one he was expecting questions, so changing over slides he can see three different hands shooting up - Flash, Green Lantern and Green Arrows, but he was expecting this so rather than straight up asking like he had previously. "Are all three of your questions about my Coverage Backup?" The three look at one another before nodding, they didn't know what one another had written, but they just wanted to know if they were the only one or not. "All I will say is that while I am the only Gotham vigilante, there are people whom I trust to take over my roll, these people live in Gotham and are aware of the way Gotham works. Gotham doesn't like outsiders, so having Gothamites to take over when needed is the primary goal."
Nobody said anything, Batman was trusting someone? Wait... did he phrase it to mean multiple people!? Wonder Woman was the only one with courage to speak up, but not asking what almost everyone else was wondering. "If it would ever be possible, I would love to meet your fellow Gothamite worriers you trust." All Batman responds with is a grunt of a huff, one that she seemingly takes well, assuming it meant 'yeah sure'... the JL are hopeless at reading his grunts.