Poker Face | Bruce Wayne

six

"Don't call me that."

She brushed past the green-clad hero whose lips curved into a frown. Bruce allowed himself a brief moment of amusement. While the circumstances still made his blood boil, at the very least, he knew he had another ally when it came to being annoyed with Hal.

"What gives?" Hal complained. "Flash just called you that!"

"Let's make this quick," Meredith ignored him as she walked to the front of the room and set down her tablet on the table. A large holoscreen appeared, with charts and numbers on the lit display. "I'm on a flight to Manhattan in an hour, so I have about twenty minutes. I assume we don't need introductions."

Bruce's amusement was long gone, anger quickly replacing it. Of course Meredith thought she was going to be heading the meeting. He briefly turned his gaze to Oliver, who had his hood pulled up, shrouding his face in darkness. The archer's words rang in his head: Meredith's going to do what Meredith does.

"Who said you were leading this?" Bruce addressed the woman next to him. The way his voice came out— dark and gravelly— gave him a feeling of jurisdiction.

If she was surprised by his question in the slightest, she didn't show it. She simply glanced up at him with an eyebrow raised. "Who said I wasn't?"

He had to stop his fingers from twitching, desperately wanting to grab her shoulders and kick her out. He'd always hated Meredith's nonchalant answers. "This is my team."

"And if you could actually allow me to present what I've prepared, maybe you would do a better job at running it."

He didn't have a chance to snarl at her as Diana spoke up. He knew the Amazon was probably amused— Diana tended to automatically induct any woman who commanded authority into her "sisterhood." Bruce figured Meredith made the cut.

"I, for one, would appreciate a formal introduction." Diana didn't stand up, but sat at the closest seat near the head of the table. She held out her hand. "I am Wonder Woman. But you may call me Diana."

Bruce's left pointer finger curled in, threatening to pinch the bridge of his cowl. This was not the plan. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Why the other members of the League couldn't comprehend simple instructions was beyond him.

Meredith reached out and clasped the other woman's hand. "Pleasure. Meredith Elias, but you knew that."

Diana nodded with a smile. "Yes, it's an honor. You've been quite the topic of discussion recently."

"I can imagine," Meredith mused, seeming a little more light-hearted, which only sent rage barreling down Bruce's spine. Meredith getting comfortable was a bad sign.

She turned back to face the rest of the table. "As you all know, I'm here strictly for funding and collateral costs. Don't take offense, but I have no an interest in any of you personally—"

"I actually do take offense to that," Hal interrupted, now back in his seat with his feet on the table. "Why don't you tell us about yourself? I'm sure we're all curious to get to know the infamous Meredith Elias."

She narrowed her eyes. "Well, I did develop a strategy for better funding collateral damage between myself, Wayne, and Queen, which in theory should save us a few million per month and take some of the stress off of cities and taxpayers."

Ignoring the conversation, Bruce began studying the information presented on the holoscreen. It was mildly... well thought-out.

"That's not what I was asking for," Hal started, only to be cut off by Meredith.