"And you expect us to just accept this explanation without proof?" batman asked still being overly cautious. alastair shrugged "you are free to have J'onn j'onzz scan my companions memories like he's been trying with my own." he said casually. the martian actually looked embarrassed after being called out. "i apologize , i must seem so rude for my actions." j'onn said honestly. "it's fine , your memories told me batman asked you to do it." alastair said calmly and all of the justice league sent batman questioning looks. "you seem to take joy in defacing me in front of everyone here , almost as though you were trying to sow dissent." batman said accusingly.
Alastair chuckled "not at all bruce." batman flinched. "i am merely calling out your bullshit levels of paranoia. if i was trying sow dissent I'd tell them about the secret plans you have hidden away." alastair said and batman scowled like he had just been fed a lemon. "what is he talking about? what plans?" superman asked sternly and batman just glared at alastair. "don't look at me like that , you know damn well that it would show up eventually. unlike everyone else in your life i won't just sit back and let you walk all over me like some self entitled little brat." alastair said scathingly.
Bruce knew the mannerisms alastair was making perfectly since his butler alfred made the same ones when he put down his foot. it bothered bruce not to be on top of a conversation in some form or another and he could tell that alastair knew this and as he had said called him out on it. it stung bruce's pride but it was also a wake up call for him to realize that he had in fact been running rough shod over people for so long it became a subconscious habit.
Clark knew that batman usually had good reasons for his rather extreme methods but could tell that the stranger also had a point. more times than not batman had an excessive amount of plans for any given situation planned or otherwise. while this tended to help the league due to the overarching net of plans covering most problems , it also extended well within the range of paranoia. a lot of the league including himself just shrugged it off as a part of batman's personality but had never stopped to consider if that paranoia extended to them as well.
None of the justice league were idiot's and could figure out the hidden meaning in alastairs words and as much as they wanted to deny them they could see the truth in them as well. "did you really make plans against us?" superman asked ever hopeful that batman had spared them his paranoia. however batman shot down his hope "i did make backup plans in case any of you went rouge." the man said with a sigh. the rest of the league looked at him in betrayal with the exception of martian manhunter who knew already thanks to his telepathy.
"Why?! after everything we've been through and done together why do this?!" wonder man asked angrily. "wait. before this turns into an interrogation would you mind listening to me for a bit?" alastair interjected and she restrained her self and looked at alastair. "what is it , are you defending him now?" she asked snidely. alastair shook his head "no , i would just like to make sure the story is straight before you all jump down his throat sideways." he said calmly. wonder woman took a deep breath to bring her emotions under control and a lot of the other league members did the same.
"Please explain." superman said calmly. "well , as you are all aware batman is paranoid beyond all reason , but what you may not realize is that because of that he is one of the few people who understands exactly what seeing the multiverse theory in person is like. whats murphy's law again?" alastair asked and the flash spoke up this time. "whatever can go wrong will go wrong." he said and alastair nodded. "yes , now imagine what it's like to be able to know all the possible ways it could go wrong for each and every person , place and thing you see constantly." alastair said and most of the justice league paled. "that sounds like madness." wonder woman said and alastair pointed at batman who didn't look happy about it. "that's how his mind works , he just hides it well." he said calmly.
_________________________________________________
I got my p@treOn set up in case you guys want to support me. patreon.com/user?u=81578854