Gotham, a city infested with crime and the worst humans you can find around, instead of being famous for its tourist attractions or local specialties, it's famous for two things, being one of the worst cities in the world and its biggest urban legend. B

atman, some describe him as a half bat half man, some as a man that dresses like a bat, and some even describe him as just a blurry shadow that comes from nowhere and disappears just like it arrived. 

But for most of the inhabitants of Gotham, he is just a rumor, a legend, something parents use to scare their children into eating vegetables, and the criminals fear being the truth.

But he is indeed very real, and his favorite past time is to go around Gotham beating up any criminal he can find, all under the cover of the shadows the night and dark alleyways create of course.

Some even put the title of a hero on him from his good deeds of saving those in danger, if you consider breaking a arm and a leg from someone just because they were trying to steal 75 bucks from a random couple a “good deed”. But nonetheless! He considers himself a hero, and he does other things outside of beating criminals in dark alleyways.

He is a genius that created most of his own advanced technological equipment and gadgets, one of the best if not the best detective in the world, a certified “ninja”, master of almost every martial art, and has basically unlimited money.

You said “Why he is so important?”?

If you start look at his feats and his overall power and influence over Gotham, both as a hero and as a billionaire; You would find that he is at best a somewhat above average hero that don't have that much influence over Gotham, let alone the world, not someone that important in the grand scheme of things.

But he himself understands that well, he understood that even more after a alien invasion that ocurred not long ago, that was stopped and resolved with the effort of a few heroes like him. And after careful consideration and planning he made a choice.

He contacted those heroes and marked a reunion in a special location to discuss something important that needed their presence.

And today was the day such reunion would occur, and Batman was already on the local, but just out of habit, he was hiding in the shadows waiting to make a dramatic entrance befitting of a creature of the shadows and the night.

Not much longer after the designated time another hero arrived, it was a hero knows as superman, and he in fact knew batman was in the warehouse they marked the reunion on because he could quite literally hear batman's heartbeat, but to his surprise, he couldn't tell where exactly he was as if batman was invisible.

After 10 minutes a hero called Flash arrived, and upon seeing superman he jokingly said “Sorry for being late, I kind of had to walk to arrive here”, but before superman could answer, batman answered in his stead while coming out of the shadow.

“10 minutes late, but wasn't outside of the expected”

Both Flash and Superman had quite a surprise, but Batman continued without caring about their surprise, saying “Let's sit, the rest probably will take some time to arrive”. 

He then took a seat on a round table close by that had 15 chairs around it. It in fact always was there, Superman just didn't want to sit until others arrived, and Batman wanted to wait in the shadows.

Soon after Flash arrived, the others started to arrive one after another, with just a few minutes between each of them.

With all of them seated, Batman finally addressed the important reason for the reunion.

“Now that everyone is here, let's start.”

“The reason I invited you all here is to invite you to a team, a team of heroes”

Hawkgirl asked “A team for what exactly?”

“To stop bigger threats, like the alien invasion we experienced not long ago. This team not only will work in a more organized way, will work to fight against bigger threats but will also give support to the members who need support in their respective region or situation, we already saw what we can do when united”

The green lantern made a question this time.

“Such operations are sure to need a variety of equipment that are guaranteed to not be cheap, and to work on a bigger scale we will need facilities or bases in multiple locations or have a single one in a strategic location, how will we get all of that?”

“All of that can be easily acquired, and everything is already planned out and prepared, I just need to know if you all are in or out, to start getting things done. If you are in, raise your hand, if not, don't raise it”

One after another started to raise their hands until everyone had done so.

Batman was about to open his mouth to say something when everyone present heard a deep woman’s voice that came from everywhere at the same time.

“Excellent, now that the team is made let's celebrate, I brought cake!”

As the voice was speaking, they also noticed sound of steps coming from a shadowy corner, and as all of them had superhuman senses they immediately turned to look at the voice source, some even tensed expecting a fight to break out.

From the shadows on the corner, a tall woman slowly came out, she wearing a long black dress that almost reached her feet, a black wide brimmed hat, and white gloves that went up to her elbow, she was also holding two somewhat boxes in each hand.

The mysterious woman spoke again just to make sure “Nobody wants cake? I brought a strawberry one and a chocolate one!

Flash was the first to speak, he even spoke like a child asking for cake on a birthday part.

“Me! I want some!”

All the heroes turned to look at Flash like he was the dumbest person in the world. But the woman ignored the heroes gazes on Flash and slowly approached him, the heroes who were close to Flash tensed up ready in the case the woman did anything.

But the woman only put the boxes down on the table and undid the ribbon on each box, the boxes opened itself up as the ribbon that was holding them was removed, in turn presenting two delicious looking cakes, but Flash immediately noticed something, how was he going to eat the cake? With his hands? 

So he asked in confusion “Where are the plat-” but he was interrupted by the woman putting a plate with a knife and fork atop the table in front of him as if she always been holding it, the heroes found that strange and all had the question “Where did that plate come from?” on their head.

And seemingly noticing the absurdity of the situation only now did Batman speak “Who are you? How did you know of this reunion? Flash, the cake might be poisoned”

Flash only spoke in a dismissive way reassuring Batman that he will be fine.

“Don't worry, poison don't affect me whatsoever”  was his “reassuring words” before he took a big slice for himself, and in instants the attention was back on the woman who casually responded Batman with a warm voice.

“You can call me Inanis Revna, I always knew this reunion was going to happen, even before you planned it, and the cake has a poison specially made for speedsters, it kills them after ten second of ingestion”

Hearing the last part everyone looked at Flash with surprise and worry on their face, except Batman of course, but the Flash himself who already ate a good portion of the slice and was in the middle of eating another spoonful chocked upon hearing the news.

He patted himself for a few moments checking his own condition, but after 10 seconds of him eating the cake, nothing happened.

Everyone looked back to Inanis as she pitched the bridge of her nose before saying  “Ah! It seems I mistook a cup of poison for a cup of sugar during the preparation, silly me” in disappointment.

Flash response was only “Dude, I though I was dying!”

Inanis said “Relax, if I wanted you all dead, I could just collapse this entire dimension and be done with it. Why would I go over the trouble of making cakes, put a very strong poison in them, personally give them to you and stay around while you eat it? The same logic also applies to the drinks''

Flash asked “what drinks?” and Inanis only said “The one in front of each of you”

All the heroes looked down in front of them and to their surprise, in fact there a cup seemingly made of glass with a orange almost yellow liquid in it, and after they noticed the cups they heard Inanis say “Mango juice”.

Flash again was the impulsive one and started drinking the juice, and superman was reaching to the cup when Inanis spoke again.

“The cake is safe, I only put the poison in the juice”

Superman stopped and Flash chocked on the juice, but instead of the Flash dying or something like that, nothing happened to him, again, but this time Inanis laughed before she said “You should have seen your face!” And took a more casual but still warm tone before saying “Relax, a poison that could kill any of you has to be specially made for each of you, or just use a poison insanely powerful, and that kind of thing normally can't be hidden in a cake or juice”

Flash said in frustration “Can you stop that? It still isn't funny!”

Batman was the one who wanted to say something this time.

“Can you explain what you meant by “collapse this entire dimension”? ”

All the heroes again had their attention turned towards Inanis who answered with a warm tone that gave no indication that what she was suggesting was the genocide of trillions.

“I know it's confusing, some call it dimension, world, universe or even reality. And I even used the word “collapse” lightly. To explain in simpler ways, think of this dimension as a glass ball, collapsing this dimension would be the equivalent of simply putting this glass ball under immense pressure, but what I could do is the equivalent of putting said glass ball inside a star core, and i doubt any of you could take that head on”

The heroes had zero reason to believe her, but somehow, all of them could tell she wasn't lying, and superman was the one with a question.

“What would someone like you want with the likes of our team?”

“I want to help you do your hero thing, if I don't help you, you will do it anyways but with a somewhat worse performance, so I might as well go and interfere for the better”

“I can give you the equipment that would be better in very way than whatever your world can offer, a base in the most secure place in the world and a means of “instantaneous” transportation between different locations across the world”

The wonder woman asked a question she was curious about.

“I am quite curious, what is stopping you from, let's say, "throwing the glass ball on a star core” as you put it? ”

Her answer was simple and short.

“The is something important here, so I can't exactly explode everything to high heavens”

Hawkgirl in turn asked with a raised eyebrow “What could be worth the same as the lives of everything in the universe?”

Inanis answer was simply “It's a person”, which made something “click” into place on the hero's heads, everyone except Flash understood what she meant without need for further explanation.

Batman inquired about the equipment she would be providing as he was planning on providing them in the first place.

“These equipment, how good are they? And where would you get them? They are stolen from aliens?”

Inanis took on a prideful but still warm tone and answered the silly question as if she was a saleswoman selling her own creations.

“They aren't stolen, nor “alien” technology”

“in regards to its capabilities. Let's use a earpiece for example, it's range is the whole solar system, it can't be detected unless you wish so, it does not produce any type of energy or signal, as such it can't be traced, interfered, tampered or anything like that, it's durability is also very high, even superman wouldn't be able to break them, they also come with other several features that make life easier”

“The next example would be the computers, they are pretty much like the earpiece, they are nigh indestructible, have access to anything connected to the internet, they are faster and more potent than anything humans will make in the next 500 years, they come with a few useful softwares and it's possible to create new ones to fit your needs, they can easily be connected with any other sub device or other full devices I offer”

Green Lantern raised his hand and Inanis said “Yes?” In response.

“How can they be this good and not be advanced alien technology? And why do you speak of humans like a separate entity? Aren't you one?”

Inanis chuckled a bit before saying “Humans are just one between many, many different species that dot this dimension, on earth alone there are several non-human species that live among humans, vampires, fae, demons, a few half angels, you get the idea. And what made you think I was a human?”

Cyborg answered that question for them.

“My normal eye can clearly see that you are human, but my robotic one is having some trouble detecting you”

Inanis questioned them with an amused tone “So you went by my appearance? Let's do a interesting challenge, I will give a million dollars to the one who can describe my face accurately”

Flash quickly responded with “Easiest million I ever earned, it's very simple, you have eyes the color of…uhhh… the color of…” he stopped to take a good look at her face and the realization dawned on him like it did to the other heroes, not one of them could see her face, superman tried his x-ray vision, cyborg tried using his sensors, green lantern used his ring, the martian tried finding her mind, but all of them still couldn't see her face, or even detect her for that matter.

“I could be a demon, a angel, a fae, a vampire, a god, or something more and you wouldn't be able to tell, so before you ask, I am not human, not that it is relevant anyways”

“Getting back to the equipment. They are so good for two main reasons, the first is that they are made personally by me, and the second is that they have basically no technological componentes, they work based on magic and a few other special things, they even are made using a unique magical material, with these two thing guaranteeing a excellent overall equipment”

Flash was the first to react with a dismissive tone that clearly displayed his sudden lack of interest.

“Magic? Everyone knows that's not real, it is all misdirection tricks, pulling rabbits from top hats, and overall party tricks anybody can learn. Even demons and angel are at best aliens from other dimensions, with other supernatural creatures being the same or just a human with some mutation or disease”

Everyone had different reactions to Inanis answer and to Flash’s explanation, but Inanis herself was dumbfounded by Flash stupid reaction.

“You, of all people here, don't believe in magic? You know where your powers come from, right?”

Flash answered with what he believed to be the truth “I got soaked in different chemicals and was struck by lightning, granting me powers in the process, nothing magical or supernatural at play, why do you ask?”

Inanis face palmed and said what everyone, even the Flash was curious to hear “The chemical and the lightning were just the trigger to the activation of your powers that were dormant inside you, and no, your powers isn't “being super fast”, your real power is the ability to connect to the speed force, that is essentially the concept of speed itself, both making you a champion for the concept of speed and essentially the most magic inclined of the heroes without considering wonder woman, the super speed is just a consequence of the connection with the speed force. And the others aren't that much different”

Batman grunted and said in his usual deep voice “Explain”

Inanis did exactly that.

“Glad you asked. Let's start with superman, he is a literal “blessed”, he has the title/role of “Angel and demon”, Batman is also one, but with the title/role of “The human”, wonder woman is literally the daughter of Zeus and is a demigoddess who I would assume has the blessed title/role of "Blind warrior", the Green Lantern “powers” are exactly what you would expect from a empathic wizard, the martian is just a alien, for now, Hawkgirl… I am not sure if she is the alien version or the immortal Egyptian version, and the Flash is the champion of what many of you would believe to be a god”

Superman was surprised as he didn't believe he could be anything like a “blessed” and only thought his power came from his alien nature, so he asked Inanis about it.

“What do you mean by “blessed”? Blessed by who?”

Inanis answer was mysterious like you would expect from someone who made that kind of entrance.

“All i will say for now is that both in your, wonder woman's and batman's case, the word “Fated” can be used instead of “Blessed” “

Hawkgirl was curious like the rest of the heroes so she asked “What was the immortal thing about? And what do you mean by “version”? ”

Inanis again gave a mysterious answer.

”If i answer that one, bat's won't be able to sleep for the next few months”

She then spoke, still with her warm voice.

“In regards to the base and the transportation, just use the smartphones in front of you to send me a message or call me, telling me about a specific location so that I can put a entrance there, the entrance will look like a wooden double door that has the symbol of a circle with arrows piercing it, you don't need to worry as only selected people can pass through them. I will leave you here with a few cakes, cookies and a few juices, if you need anything just call or message me, I hope you all have a nice day”

All the heroes looked in front of them at the table and indeed there were a few boxes and plates with cookies along some glass jars with juice and thin retangular devices there, when everyone looked back to Inanis she was already walking into the shadow at the corner, being slowly swallowed by it, just to disappear without leaving traces.

Batman was the first to speak after she left.

“Does anyone have heard of “Inanis Revna”? “

All the heroes shook their heads as they didn't have any clue about who she was.

Batman then opened a mini computer on his suit’s arm and typed a few things before speaking about what he found.

“I found only one result for the name "Inanis Revna". Inanis Revna, 34, the daughter of a rich family that owns several precious mines around the world, but not one of them is clearly specified where, only has two daughters, one newborn and one adopted teenager, currently owns and runs a single hotel in New York, and no registered husband despite being registered as a widow”

The heroes processed this information slowly and wonder woman was the first to question it.

“She said that she wasn't human, but didn't say what she was, do you think this identity is fake? Maybe it's real but she turned into something "not human" later in life?”

Batman gave a direct answer.

“The identity is definitely well made, but I can tell it's fake, but I mean it's fake in the sense that it was “artificially” put into the system, and the only information I could confirm to be true was the adoption of her teenager daughter, the rest has its validity unclear”

Hawkgirl: “Do you all think what she told about the equipment and the base was the truth?”

Flash: “A better question would be if what she said about wanting to help us is not a lie!”

Martian manhunter: “It did look like she was telling the truth in both cases”

Wonder woman: "As she did a poorly attempt to hide her strength, I could easily tell that she was a very formidable warrior and was very powerful even while she sounded like a simple nice mother that wouldn't hurt a fly, so, if she wanted to hurt any of us, she definitely could easily achieve that with martial prowess alone"

All the heroes understand better what level Inanis was on,  since it was THE wonder woman who was praising Inanis, so she knew well her stuff.

Batman: “John, did you get a good look at her mind?”

Martian manhunter: “No, I couldn't even detect her mind at all, as if she was a machine or illusion”

Green lantern: “My ring algo didn't detect her presence, only that there was something solid standing there”

Cyborg: “The same for me, my other eye could see her, but outside of seeing her, it couldn't detect or register her presence at all, neither her face”

Batman said nothing and the heroes proceeded to verify the food and drinks using their powers, once they discovered that it was safe they started to consume it, except Batman of course, and Flash, as he already was consuming it without worry.

After a few minutes of the heroes eating the abnormally delicious food and talking between themselves, Batman got their attention and said “I think it's best that we make a vote, those who will trust "Inanis" raise their hands, otherwise, don't”

All the heroes except Batman raised their hands, so he asked “Does anyone want to add anything further to this reunion?” nobody spoke so he continued with “That will officially mark the end of the reunion, you can stay or leave as you wish”.

Batman was the first to leave by blending in the shadows, but he didn't forget to sneakily pick up the smartphone Inanis gave to him. 

And soon afterwards one hero after another started to leave while picking their gifted smartphones on the way out, Flash was the last to leave as he stayed to eat the rest of the food.

…

Later that night Batman for sure would be frustrated by not being able to dismantle the smartphone he received, as it was a durable thing on its own, but it was also reinforced with magic on top of that.