Disclaimer

The characters used in this story are the property of DC Comics and Warner Bros. I have used them and fabricated this tale which is entirely is product of my imagination.

Chap 3

The Justice League's annual meeting commenced. Although there was not much preparation, the members had tried their best to make it look official, by arranging seven chairs around a large round table. Some members already had a thought in mind about proposing for a conference room.

Superman assumed leadership. He stood up and greeted the league and then its individual members by name. He wasn't used to this charade either, but tried to seem natural. "First of all, let me announce that the overall crime rate in the world has dropped by 15% ever since we put our forces together. Also –", he was interrupted by Diana. "Are we not going to wait for Batman?" she enquired. The others turned around and saw, Batman was missing indeed! They looked at Superman, as if asking for an explanation. "Um, he said he wouldn't be able to make it. He is kind of busy, but he did ask me to convey his regards and best wishes to all of you on his behalf" He made up the last point. He did invite Batman personally to attend the meeting, but he bluntly declined, saying that he is not a part of it. Before Superman could protest, he was off without a trace. His cranky behaviour did annoy him, but he chose not to bring it before the others, lest it should demean him.

"Well frankly, I never saw him after he declined your offer to be in the league." Green Lantern said.

"I did ask for his advice once, regarding Shade." Hawk girl recollected.

"I asked for his advice on almost every mission. He would speak as if he were present there with me! So, perfect!" Flash mused.

"Perhaps he was present with you. May be you didn't see him." Jonn said.

"I hate it when someone sneaks upon me like that," she said, squinting at the Green Lantern.

"I told you, I just happened to be there." GL retorted.

"And what brought you to New York?" Hawk girl gazed.

"Ok...Ok... When you said, you were going to take on Shade, I thought you'd get yourself into trouble because of your haphazard techniques. You rely on your strength and maze more than your mind." GL became cautious of his last remark. Hawk Girl was not at all happy.

Superman realised it was the time to interfere. "I know these difficulties arise when you work in a team. But the point is, we need to set our egos aside and work with each other." He thought that would lighten things up a bit. Instead, he was returned a cold gaze from others. Flash was the first to respond, "You don't talk about team work, Superman! Remember how you made me look like a fool when we faced Luthor. I almost got him, and you came out of the blue, pushing me away and grounding him. You know what the people said - The world's fastest man has got neither brawns nor brains." Superman lost his temper, "Luthor was going to electrocute you, and you were standing there, flirting with the news reporter. If it wasn't for me, you'd be a burnt toast." That ended all the dignity Superman and the others were trying to maintain. "It wouldn't have taken me a second to save myself 'and the news reporter'. You were only jealous because I was shifting the lime light off you, and I was flirting with 'your' girlfriend."

The atmosphere started exploding as Green Lantern and Hawk Girl brought in their complaints about the Man of Steel, only trying to steal the show. Diana sat helplessly watching her friends argue over such petty ego problems. She recollected her encounter with Batman, and contemplated if it fell into the same category. It seemed to have a different dimension to it. Batman certainly did not want to steal the show. She didn't remember him giving any kind of instructions during the fight, in fact, he let her play her part. But his attitude towards law and towards people was definitely wrong. She came to the same conclusion – he is very different from the others.

Others realised that Diana was feeling amiss. They decided to pay her some attention too. "Do you have something to say, Diana?" Superman asked. His voice startled him, but she recovered and said – "I think I have a lot to learn about this world, the feelings and emotions of the people, and this new thing called 'ego'. I don't think I am in capacity to judge anyone without this knowledge." The others felt embarrassed at their behaviours and apologized to each other with their eyes. Silence prevailed for a while. Superman took charge again and got up to deliver the vote of thanks when suddenly Diana spoke, "Is Batman an alien?" Superman was bewildered, but the others couldn't help a chuckle. "What made you think so?" Jonn questioned. "Well, I don't know. Given that the men from the earth look like Green Lantern and Flash, he looks too stony to be one. No offense Jonn, but he feels a bit like you, except for his incredible mood swings. I think Superman fits into the description of a man more than he does, seeing the ease with which he carried out the conversation with the others, displaying all the traits of a man." It was a well-formed statement, but couldn't make Superman feel any worse. "I wish he was, but sadly, he's not" he replied, coldly. The others were still chuckling and Flash got up and said "I have my two cents to add." Then he looked around and said, "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. Of course some of them come from Krypton and Thanegar too. As for batman, he is from a planet called the bat-cave."Everyone eyed him seriously, and just as Flash began to consider mortification, they burst into laughter. At least the meeting ended on a funny note.

Dec 23rd 7:00PM
The annual Wayne foundation dinner at the Wayne Manor. The guests were engrossed in their own activities, men discussing politics and sports, and women flaunting their classy attire, expensive jewellery. Alfred and Tim took up the responsibility of entertaining the guests till Bruce arrived. There were quite a few news reporters moving around the hall, feeling free to capture some gossip for Page 3. Clark Kent of the Daily Planet was present there too, alone, as Lois had an appointment with Lex Luthor for an interview. She was dying to be at Bruce's party, but thought she could not trust Clarke with Lex, as the former didn't like him very much. Reluctantly, she had to let Clarke have all the fun.

Bruce finally arrived, half an hour late. His eyes clearly showed that he had been deprived of sleep for atleast 3 days. He stated by apologising for the delay, then expressing his gratitude to all the donors of the Wayne foundation. He made his speech short and sweet. He hoped to get lost in crowd and slowly head back to his bed room and catch some sleep. He tried to avoid the press, but Clark spotted him.

"Mr. Wayne, I am Clark Kent from the Daily Planet, Metropolis. I wanted to ask-" he was cut by Bruce, "Clarke, you don't have to make up reasons to talk to me. No one is watching us." Clarke let out a light sigh of relief, "I checked the data from the remote sensing satellite. You were right about it being an ordinary meteor, which burnt out as soon as it reached the atmosphere." He reported.

"Well, that was anticipated. What about the chemical factory? And the marijuana smuggling?" Bruce enquired. "Hawk girl has spotted the possible location of the racket. We are getting into action tonight. About the chemical factory, we couldn't gather much information from the employees. It seems to me like they are well paid and very loyal to their employer. But you were right about the benzene contamination." He said. Suddenly they both became aware of a lady walking towards them. It was Lisa.

"I have been looking everywhere for you, ", she said, without as much as a formal introduction. Clark realised he had to leave the scene. "I think that should fill our society column, Mr. Wayne. Thank you for the interview!" he began to leave when Bruce interjected "Clarke, wait! This is not important." He turned to Lisa. She looked strikingly beautiful in red. But Bruce didn't pay any attention to that. "Yes," he said. She noticed the exasperation, but went on, "I am really sorry about my behaviour at the art gallery that day. I am new to this town and I happened to have probably picked up on some gossip. But later I heard a lot of praise about you, the Wayne foundation and its activities. Believe me, I have been feeling terrible ever since. Please forgive me!" She squirmed under his gaze all through, but was determined to earn an acknowledgement.

As for Bruce, he couldn't react. That confession was totally unexpected. His eyes widened and heart raced. Clark couldn't help but smile at Bruce's less than appropriate expression. He left them alone.

to be continued