Picking at his gloves, Batman stared down at his hands, oddly finicky in a way that he usually wouldn't be. Being cooped up in the suit was never fun when he couldn't move around as it was meant for, and even in the comfortable temperature of the Fortress, the Kevlar and polyester clung to his skin and sweat dripped down his temples. Strictly speaking, the cowl was unnecessary, given the current company, but he was still ashamed of himself for the offer he had made Lex -- he knew the difference between wrong and right, he knew that nobody should be made to experience what he did, to have to stand in their own parents' blood and drop to their knees with that same pain. But he was dwelling on the past, and that wasn't supposed to be the thing that fueled him, really. He was supposed to be doing this for justice, now, not for his own selfish, petty revenge
( ... )
Under the cover of the large table, Leland briefly slipped her hand into Bruce's and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Knowing what she knew about Bruce and Lex, she could understand what had happened. Not justify it, but understand it. And she more then understood what it was like to feel Arkham close it's jaws around you and wonder if you could get back out.
Leland's hand in his was comforting in more ways than one. He did not usually crave physical affection, especially not when he was being Batman, but the fact that he had at least one person who did not think of him as some kind of unspeakable evil was helpful. And to know that she (or as was his impression) supported him in putting all of that out there to tell the others what was going on in his head.
"Thanks," he said to her in a voice low enough to not be heard all the way around the table.
"Well," said Superman lightly, though his eyes betrayed his true feelings, "Thank you for that. If you don't mind, you'll be stationed with me for the time being."
"I don't mind," he confirmed, looking down at the table to avoid Superman's eyes. Batman recognized how oddly he was acting, how insecure, but what he did was unacceptable, if not completely unforgivable. But... that was Superman. Always giving people chances. Batman was more grateful than he would like to let show. "I'll be glad to work with you. We can do well together, I think."
Avoiding the obvious implications that Batman could not be trusted to be left without a watchful eye was difficult, but he knew that what went unspoken had to stay that way.
"We will do well together," said Superman, with genuine sentiment. "Let's talk afterwards, to hash out our own particular game plan. I could do with a unique perspective."
Looking around, Batman cleared his throat again. "Alex. Uh, Dawes. I've only told Harvey so far, but since it's coming up... he's been staying with me. He's a bit frustrated about not being able to do anything. I guess living in the alternate Gotham has instilled some kind of fundamental sense of morals in him. He wants to be a part of this. I told him he's too young, but I'd discuss it at the meeting..."
"Youth is no problem. Look at Impulse, here. The only issue is if we'd be putting him in more danger than he could handle. What can he do? Has he had any kind of experience in this, ah... field, if we can call it that?"
"Yes, that's true. But I thought, for a human with no powers, Alex would be far more of a liability than Impulse would. Regardless, I think that the minimum of work we could give him that still made him feel included would be best. I would be hesitant to have him fighting anybody physically, given his body structure and lack of experience with any formal training. Although... I was thinking I could train him. Just so that he knows the basics if if comes to that. Any thoughts?"
Ordinarily, Superman would have had to turn him down, purely out of his natural sense of responsibility. Every member of the Justice League had to be reliable in a situation, if not for the group's benefit, for their own safety.
However, the thought of Batman willingly supervising a teenager was far too intriguing. Besides, if he interpreted what Batman was proposing correctly-- all it would involve was a little training. No harm in that.
"Training sounds good. You know the kid better than I do, so you'll be more able to gage his limits. For the time being, I can't condone his coming to the meetings, but... we'll see how he does."
Batman inclined his head very slightly in thanks and thought about it for a moment. Training Alex would be a difficult matter, given his tendency to lash out and show his anger at inopportune moments. But Bruce was familiar with angry teenagers, having been one himself, and he thought that if he showed Alex that he could relate to having lost his parents -- or parent, in Alex's case -- then Alex would be more likely to listen to him.
"That's fair. I'll do my best with him. I think he's a quick learner when he wants to be and he, well, he could use a way to channel that anger he harbors into something useful, rather than breaking the noses of less chivalrous young men at school."
For the rest of the evening, Power Girl more or less ignored the Bats, agreeing with Huntress that they were better neither seen nor heard. Still, she couldn't quite banish her lingering anger towards the would-be traitor.
Once in a while, her gaze drifted back to her cousin, deep in conversation with the Batman. Kal-El was too trusting for his own good.
When the meeting had largely broken up and people were filtering out in their assorted vehicles, Power Girl sidled up to Batman after his partner left for Gotham. After checking quickly to ensure that Superman was busy, she pulled him aside by an elbow. She smirked at his attempt to shrug her off and tightened her grip of steel very slightly.
"Could you spare a moment to chat with Power Boobs?" Power Girl's eyes glinted. It was not a request.
Batman rolled his eyes. He knew he probably looked like a petulant child that had been caught swearing, but he honestly, against his better judgment, did not give a damn what Power Girl thought of him, Superman's cousin-from-another-dimension or not. As far as he was concerned, she would never forgive him for his mistake -- and perhaps rightfully so, given the nature of it -- and he wouldn't go out of his way to get back into her good graces when she so clearly did not want to trust him, even if he proved himself.
"What I think of you right now is pretty obvious," she said abruptly, "So I'll skip the I-don't-trust-you speech and get right to the part where I let you know that I'm going to disregard everything you say about Gotham. Or at least, the part about me staying out of it. Don't look at me like that," Power Girl sneered at the look on his face, "I really don't think you have any business telling anybody what to do."
The problem with vigilantes is not their disregard for the law- Kara was entirely comfortable with that. No, her problem with them was their desperate clinging to petty minutiae.
That was the problem with all humans, really.
"You hardly have ownership of the city, and Gotham needs more help than Metropolis could even dream of," she continued serenely. "Your territorial squabbling is of no interest to me."
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"Thanks," he said to her in a voice low enough to not be heard all the way around the table.
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Avoiding the obvious implications that Batman could not be trusted to be left without a watchful eye was difficult, but he knew that what went unspoken had to stay that way.
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"Also, there's something I had to talk to you about. There's somebody who, uh... would like to sit in on a meeting."
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However, the thought of Batman willingly supervising a teenager was far too intriguing. Besides, if he interpreted what Batman was proposing correctly-- all it would involve was a little training. No harm in that.
"Training sounds good. You know the kid better than I do, so you'll be more able to gage his limits. For the time being, I can't condone his coming to the meetings, but... we'll see how he does."
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"That's fair. I'll do my best with him. I think he's a quick learner when he wants to be and he, well, he could use a way to channel that anger he harbors into something useful, rather than breaking the noses of less chivalrous young men at school."
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Once in a while, her gaze drifted back to her cousin, deep in conversation with the Batman. Kal-El was too trusting for his own good.
When the meeting had largely broken up and people were filtering out in their assorted vehicles, Power Girl sidled up to Batman after his partner left for Gotham. After checking quickly to ensure that Superman was busy, she pulled him aside by an elbow. She smirked at his attempt to shrug her off and tightened her grip of steel very slightly.
"Could you spare a moment to chat with Power Boobs?" Power Girl's eyes glinted. It was not a request.
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"Fine," he said shortly. "Talk."
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The problem with vigilantes is not their disregard for the law- Kara was entirely comfortable with that. No, her problem with them was their desperate clinging to petty minutiae.
That was the problem with all humans, really.
"You hardly have ownership of the city, and Gotham needs more help than Metropolis could even dream of," she continued serenely. "Your territorial squabbling is of no interest to me."
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