Chapter Text
Batman didn’t trust the Doomslayer.
To be entirely fair, he didn’t trust anyone outside his family and possibly Diana and Clark. The paranoia and suspicion were a natural part of his identity as Batman. It worked for him, and that was what mattered.
Doomslayer was new to the Justice League, and his acceptance had come with conditions - conditions which only made Batman more wary of the man(?). Doomslayer had requested that his privacy be respected, that he not be forced to give up any personal information he was uncomfortable with, and that his name and identity were kept far away from the Justice League. Which meant he had some sort of human identity that he had so far managed to keep hidden from Batman. And that irked him.
Not that it mattered. The Doomslayer had respected Batman’s wishes about outside Metas long before he had even been mentioned in the JL. He kept far away from Gotham, and Batman was perfectly fine with that.
Though he was still irritated. Who, and what, was the Doomslayer? Was he a threat? So far, no, but that was subject to change at any moment.
It was Doomslayer’s first meeting with the League, and Batman was even more on edge than usual. He didn’t like interacting with new members, always so sure of their place and not understanding how to interact with the Bat just yet. But, as a core member of the JL, he had expectations - like attending and hosting meetings with non-central members of the JL. It would at least allow him to study the Doomslayer outside of combat.
The Doomslayer arrived exactly five minutes early - Batman had been there for the past twenty minutes, mentally noting at what time each member arrived. He didn’t acknowledge the Doomslaye - he didn’t acknowledge any of them, really, though he watched out of the corner of his eye as the hulking armoured man walked carefully along the walls, nodding politely to everyone who saw him, taking his seat near the back of the room. He sat carefully, arms folded in his lap, holding himself like he was a lot smaller than he actually was. He moved quietly, despite his size and armour, and Batman wondered how well the Doomslayer would hold up in a stealth mission.
The armour - Batman took the opportunity to study it in person out of the corner of his eye, pretending to be focused on his tablet. It was a faded hunter green, and he could see numerous scratches in the material - an unidentified metal. Despite the notable battle damage, the armour appeared to be carefully maintained, he could observe points where it had been glossed, repaired, and painted back to a nearly-new state.
The meeting went without a hitch. The attendees at least had enough respect to not interrupt him or cause disturbances, though he did catch a few weird looks and gestures between some of the younger members. Doomslayer, for his part, remained attentive, silent, and nearly still the entire time. His hands folded delicately in his lap, helmet following each new speaker. No one bothered him, and he bothered no one.
Every now and then, his helmet would be angled just right so that Batman could see the outline of his face under the visor. He couldn’t gleam much, other than thin human eyes and possibly caucasian. He filed that information away for later.
It was a simple meeting - informing members of information they needed to know, laying out the schedule for the following month, making targeted comments about things that needed to be worked on, the works. Just like his day job - at least, before he passed a portion of the work off to his third son.
“Doomslayer. A word.” He said, as the meeting came to a close and the attendees were finally dismissed. Doomslayer faced him and gave a small nod of acknowledgement, but remained in his seat until most of the others had finished filing out of the room, stretching and complaining in hushed tones.
Doomslayer approached, footsteps still near-silent, and he stopped a few feet away from Batman. He folded his hands behind his back, poster straight, shoulders squared and facing him directly. Military background, perhaps?
“You told Diana that your schedule was less concrete, and your appearances outside of emergencies could not be concrete.” Batman began, remaining in position beside the large screen. “Are you able to attend any of the training sessions I outlined?”
Doomslayer turned to study the screen, where the dates and times were still listed, for those who needed it. After three seconds of consideration, he silently pointed out one of the timeframes listed. Batman made a mental note and nodded.
“Let us know in advance if you cannot,” Batman told Doomslayer, and left, having had enough of socializing for the day.