In front of a large window stood a lone figure, covered from head to toe in a gunmetal grey bodysuit, whilst a long black cape completed the look. A cowl with pointed ears akin to those of a bat covered half his face with an opening for the mouth. A large black insignia of a bat was etched across his broad chest. The whole getup cut a sharp contrast to the light and airy feel to the room.
This was none other than Batman, world renowned master detective, martial artist and Gotham's own resident superhero. As a member of the original Trinity, he was well respected amongst the ranks of other heroes in the world, although he was no more than a normal human male when compared to the rest. As usual, he cut an imposing figure as he stared out the large window, or more specifically at the planet called Earth.
The room was mostly silent bar from the low hum of the computers located behind Batman, his breathing was silent, and he was stationary as he gazed out the window.
The brown and blue chunk of compact layers of rock could be seen rotating ever so slowly on its axis. One half of the planet was draped in the dark veil of the night, however, the other half bathed in the warmth of daytime. A few cloud layers could be seen over the continents and the seas as they floated along.
"It's ironic how something so large can be so fragile at the same time." lamented Batman, eyes transfixed on the continent of America at the specific location of his home city. Even in broad daylight, there were large clouds looming over the city, preventing the sun from illuminating the place. "It seems no matter how much effort we put into keeping you safe, things never stay that way."he continued, lifting his gloved right hand before clenching it into a fist.
With a sigh, he prepared to move from his position when he noticed the reflection of a bright light appear in the centre of the room or to be more precise, at the location of the teleportation pad. The light grew in intensity as it bathed the room in its glow. When it died down a group of six people were standing with another being carried.
'Censors didn't pick them up, maybe it's time to recalibrate them.' mused Batman, his eyes moving to the edge of the slits in his cowl to look behind him, although he could have easily just turned around to do so. "Took you long enough." he stated, eyes having moved back to view the Earth.
"Come on Bruce we weren't gone for that long." replied the Man of Steel.
"How many times must I remind you not to say my civilian name in front of strangers?!" snapped Bruce turning quickly on the spot before directing a bat-glare at Goku and Mary. "And who are they anyway?"
"Oh, you worry too much Bruce. Goku can be trusted." responded Superman light-heartedly earning himself a growl from Batman. Choosing to ignore it though Clark turned to Goku "Well Goku this is our base of operations called The Watchtower. Barry can show you around after you and whatever her name is get shown your respective rooms." Goku nodded in understanding before searching for Barry who gave him a thumb up when he found him.
"Flash will do no such thing!" snapped Batman once more, acting as the voice of authority "For all we know he's a spy along with his friend who's probably pretending to be asleep." declared Batman as he glared at Goku and Mary once more. Now, most people would have faltered under the power of the bat-glare however Goku was no ordinary person. He had faced down in staring matches with beings such as Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu, Broly and Hirudegarn who had more power in their pinkie fingers alone than Bruce's bat-glare could muster in its entirety.
"Is there something on my face?" questioned Goku as he turned to face the others, wondering why he was the object of such interest from the black clad male. "Also why is he dressed as a bat, is it Halloween already here?"
The questions caused Flash, Green Lantern, and Superman to break out into a chorus laughter that reverberated around the room. Wonder Woman had her hand covering her mouth as she fought to contain her giggles, whilst Luthor had a small smile, respectively.
"STOP ENCOURAGING HIM!" roared Batman, his face turning a shade of red from his rage, reminding Goku of a certain short Prince of Saiyans.
"Oh, lighten up Batman, you're going to get wrinkles from glaring so much."said Superman in-between his laughter.
"He's correct Batman, you're going to look like an old man before the rest of us." commented a chuckling Barry. A bat-glare in his direction silenced him with a gulp.
"Did anything happen while we were gone?" questioned Wonder Woman, changing the subject as she noted the awkward tension that was building up. As Batman turned to answer her, she noted from the corner of her eye as Goku chuckled at Flash breathing a sigh of relief before he stuck out his tongue at Batman's back. She chuckled inwardly at the display of childlike antics, just as the capped crusader opened his mouth to respond to her question.
However, before Batman could answer Luthor intervened by clearing his throat "As fun as this chatter has been, I believe It's time I returned home."
"Oh yeah, sure thing. Sorry for keeping you." apologized Superman, however, Luthor just waved off the apology with a smile.
"No harm was done. I shall take my leave then."Everybody bar Luthor backed up from the teleportation pad. Luthor took out the device he had used to travel between different dimensions, and with a click of a button, it whined into action. A bright light engulfed the bald hero and when it died down he was gone.
"Well I'm off to get some rest." said Superman, yawning and stretching for emphasis. Bruce however sneered slightly before speaking to his oldest colleague and closest friend "We both know that sleeping is not a necessity but a luxury for you, so don't give me that."
"Wait he doesn't need to sleep, that's awesome!" exclaimed Goku, in his mind, the idea of requiring no sleep equated to extra training without having to take breaks for sleeping. But then again, he needed rest, so he did not think he'd be willing to sacrifice his need to rest for extra training.
"Well I might not need the rest, but the others do. Am I right guys?" there were murmurs of agreement from the group. The capped crusader looked at everyone individually, scanning their faces for any hints of deceit but they held strong. And there were a few scratches and small holes on their respective costumes.
"Before you all go, we need to discuss what to do with him and his friend." stated Batman as he positioned himself to face Goku, "I'm going to have to ask you to step outside the room."
"Uh sure I guess." responded Goku. Turning he took off towards the main entrance and he watched as the doors slid open aside to let him through, glancing back before stepping out he caught the gazes of everyone. He smiled and turned before stepping out leaving the doors to close in his wake.
"I don't trust him." Declared Batman the instant the doors had closed.
Superman sighed as he rolled his eyes before responding "You never trust anyone, that's no surprise." The capped crusader chose to stay silent. It was not exactly new knowledge that he did not trust anybody.
"Bruce, Son Goku has shown himself to be a trustworthy and honourable warrior." Without even having to look, Bruce already knew the statement came from Diana, not because she was the only female in the room and thus her voice was unique but because her judgment of character reflected from battle.
"Diana, he could have easily been acting, putting on a front of being trustworthy to gain your trust then backstab you, even all of us."Diana opened her mouth to protest but Hal Jordan beat her to it as he stepped forward and added his own tuppence to the discussion.
"You know Bruce might have a valid point, and before you have a go at me hear me out." Hal glanced around and noted how he had everyone's attention. "Now when we arrived at the Crime Syndicates base if I remember correctly wasn't Goku fighting Superman whilst his partner watched from the side-lines, call me crazy but that doesn't exactly scream trustworthy."
"Goku didn't attack me, it was the other way around. I got blinded by my rage and attacked him. I will have to give him one thing though, he is a brilliant fighter. He was dodging all my attacks like he could see them in slow motion and when he punched me in the gut well my vision actually swam for a bit." cut in Superman in an attempt to clear some blame off Goku's character.
Batman who had been listening intently then replied, "So practically we have a powerful stranger capable of keeping Clark on the ropes who was seen interacting with a member of the enemies' team in our base of operations... Is that about, right?"
"Don't worry Bruce we managed to defeat him when we attacked him together." quipped Hal in response, brushing his nails on his pants before admiring them in a move to show confidence. "If he acts up, we can get him easily." a chuckling Diana made him look in her direction "What's so funny?"
"Well it seems like you either forgot our conversation earlier or you chose to ignore it when the security cameras confirmed that Son Goku was more than likely holding back in strength." with her gaze on Hal she continued "Personally I have reason to believe he was holding back. We never got to witness the golden Super Saiyan as was mentioned by Mary, so we don't know how powerful he is in that form."
There was silence after she had spoken her mind, but she certainly wasn't done yet as she chose to continue "Moreover when I fought him momentarily I had a feeling he was pulling his punches, almost as if he was testing me, like he was gauging my strength against his own."
"What's this Super Saiyan you spoke of?" questioned Batman, his suspicions of Goku going through the roof once more. His analytical mind was running in over gear already as he analysed all info on Goku, filing away any key points he had heard thus far.
"From what we obtained about him through my counterpart, it's a transformation where his hair changes appearance by becoming upright and golden, whilst a golden aura is visible around him. He also receives a substantial power boost in terms of strength, durability, stamina, and speed. There are 3 known transformations with golden hair and a final one with long black hair and fur covering his chest." commented Wonder-woman, as she easily recalled the info she had acquired from interrogating her counterpart.
"Any weaknesses to these forms?" questioned Batman, in his mind he was already preparing a way to take Goku down if he ever went rogue which he believed to be highly possible considering the previously mentioned connection to the Syndicate the stranger had.
"It used to be energy consumption, but he seems to have worked that weakness out and now he's capable of holding each form indefinitely." Batman stayed quiet, mulling things over in his head.
"Wait wasn't he glowing red with red hair when he fought him?" asked Barry, Bruce snapped out of his thoughts and looked over at Diana, eyes silently questioning why she hadn't mentioned that info, but she simply shrugged before answering
"She wasn't aware of it either, so I can't tell you what it is."
"We have wasted enough time as it is, we need to decide what to do with Goku." quipped Superman as he cut into the conversation. "We can always sort this out later."
Bruce simply grunted in response. "Flash, tell Goku to come in here please."The Flash nodded before running to the door in a red blur, the door opened to reveal an empty hallway without a sign of neither Goku nor the woman he was carrying. "Uh… he's not here."
"I knew it! I told you so!" roared Batman before in a flurry of his cap he quickly moved towards the command console and within a few presses of the buttons, the large monitor showed the CCTV footage from all the cameras within the walls of the Watchtower. "Everyone fan out and find him, who knows what he has taken or heard. I'll contact the others and inform them to keep an eye out."called out the capped crusader as everyone shuffled out quickly leaving him alone to contact the heroes on the waiting list to join the Justice League."You may think you're clever Son Goku but you're not clever enough to defeat me."declared Batman to no one.
However, Diana stayed at the door, lingering and seemingly having an internal struggle within her psyche. She took a few steps forward once more before stopping and doubling back. Sighing she faced Batman and watched as he flicked through multiple screens all to find their 'new' visitor "Bruce…" she called out, voice edged with worry.
The name lingered in the air, forming a tense moment of silence between the two before Bruce answered. "Yes Diana?" he continued flicking through the multiple street cameras of various cities across the globe, whilst a picture of Goku was continuously being compared to multiple faces that flashed across the screen.
"What in Hades was that back there?" The Dark Knight stayed silent, choosing to focus on the current task he was undertaking instead. "You promised me Bruce, you promised me that you'd be more open, more trusting yet nothing seems to have changed."
With a sigh Bruce turned away from the screens and faced Diana. With the cowl hiding his face his dark eyes rested upon hers before he spoke "I'm doing what I must to keep you safe, to keep everyone safe and if that means breaking a promise then so be it."
"Why can't you take my word for it and just trust Goku. Is my judgment not good enough for you anymore?"
"I never made that…"
Diana cut him off however, a frown on her beautiful features "That's a lie Bruce, you made that exact claim in our earlier conversation."
Bruce had to resist the massive urge to run his hand over his face, instead choosing to let out a low breath from his mouth. Speaking slowly, he attempted to correct his female team-member "What I said was we can't base someone's level of trustworthiness on a small spar you had amidst a battle scenario."
"Are you forgetting that I had access to all his past accomplishments?" countered Wonder-woman, only for Batman to give a counter argument in return.
"No, I haven't forgotten; however, people change Diana memories are merely enough to be a judge on someone's character."