"Since everyone's here, we'll begin. Barry—how long do you need to finish reading the materials in front of you?"
With the Flash seated, Batman flipped open his folder and asked how much time Barry needed to confirm the documents.
Barry focused.
The world seemed to slow.
He snatched the stack of papers and read the entire packet line by line, in a blink.
The instant Batman finished speaking, Barry answered, "I've read it all."
"Good. The meeting is now in session."
After receiving confirmation, Batman stood. Under the black cowl, his voice remained calm as he formally opened the meeting.
He signaled Cyborg to activate the projection system. The first agenda's charts and tables appeared above the center of the round table.
"Regarding the use of UN funding—everything is detailed in the documents. Any objections?"
As the Justice League transitioned into a formal, public-facing superhero organization, expenditures climbed steadily.
With everyone's abilities, Ben—when transformed into Grey Matter—had built several "budget hacks" that were honestly impressive.
To solve base power consumption alone, he'd built:
a device that could take Shazam's lightning and store it as usable energy,
a converter that turned Heatblast's flames and Superman's heat vision into electricity,
and even a ridiculous setup where Flash could pedal a bike to generate power.
But base energy was only one piece of the puzzle.
Facility maintenance. Post-battle cleanup. Reconstruction after collateral damage. Relief efforts and compensation for civilians.
All of it demanded enormous funding.
Green Lantern frowned at the projected breakdown, glaring at one large category that made no sense to him.
"Why does it say 20% of the budget goes to Justice League IP marketing and merchandise monetization? Since when did we fight for profit?"
He wasn't alone.
Wonder Woman, Superman, Aquaman, Flash—even Shazam—shared the same reaction.
No one at that table became a hero for money.
Batman didn't flinch.
He waved, and Cyborg projected a second layer of figures—operational costs, logistics, staffing, damage control, equipment procurement—the real, ugly math.
Batman spoke over the hard numbers.
"Once the League becomes a public institution, we will be expected to take responsibility for battlefield cleanup and post-incident repairs. That will be a major expense."
UN funding, for a formally recognized organization like them, would barely cover routine base operations and maintenance.
But if the League wanted to repair the destruction caused by fights and support civilians affected by those fights, that funding was a drop in the ocean.
Add R&D and equipment production, and the Justice League was staring at a widening financial sinkhole.
Batman could temporarily plug part of it with Wayne money.
But if the League had no sustainable revenue stream, the hole would only grow.
And there was another concern he didn't say lightly: if he ever lost control—or if Wayne Enterprises ever went under—then where would the League's funding come from?
If not for the fact that the League's public-facing headquarters—the Hall of Justice—was already under construction and consuming a significant portion of funds, the investment into monetization would've been even larger, just to get them profitable faster.
"We need our own funding source," Batman concluded, "not perpetual dependence on either the UN or private corporations."
Green Lantern grinned and pointed at him.
"What's wrong—Wayne Enterprises' chairman finally feeling the pain of spending money?"
Since the first time they'd met, Ben had been chirping in Hal's ear nonstop about Batman's "money superpower."
So hearing Batman say, out loud, that the League couldn't rely on private funding was—honestly—satisfying.
Batman didn't respond.
But judging by everyone's expressions, they all understood the point now: profitability wasn't about greed—it was about independence.
If their budget could be controlled by external forces, how could the Justice League stay neutral in international crises?
How could they mobilize the world's heroes when an extinction-level threat showed up?
Superman looked at Hal and explained patiently, "He's not worried about the money. He wants the League to remain financially independent—so no one can control us."
Ben followed up with a joke, aimed squarely at Hal:
"Or do you want the public thinking the Justice League is Wayne's private security team—and we all have to call Bruce Wayne 'boss'?"
If Wayne money was the only thing keeping the League operational, then even if everyone inside knew it was unconditional support, outsiders wouldn't see it that way.
To the outside world, capitalists don't bankroll heroes for nothing.
"Absolutely not."
Hal's teasing grin vanished instantly.
He did not want that timeline.
With the core issue settled, they checked a few smaller expense items. Then Batman signaled Cyborg to switch the projection to the next agenda.
"Next: recruitment."
A file appeared—an image of a man in green, carrying a bow.
"The first candidate I propose," Batman said, "is Green Arrow."
…
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 90)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter70)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter70)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter60)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 30
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 30
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