[ WP ] A loved and respected hero discovers something that leads him to become a morally questionable antihero .

[ Not exactly self discovery as someone/s bringing it to his attention ] 
 
 
 “ He ’ s here ” said the muscular green skinned humanoid. His eyes were lightly closed, his jaw slightly tense with mild concentration, a physical tell that his mind was reaching out afar. 
 
 
 “ Thank you, J ’ onn ” said the golden armored Amazonian princess as she rose from her monitor console. A red light flashed overhead confirming the Martian ’ s telepathy. 
 
 Diana waved her hand in the empty air before her causing three holographic projections of some of Earth ’ s mightiest protectors to appear “ Kal? Barry? Hal? Bruce has arrived. Can you join us in the Monitor hub? ” 
 
 
 She dismissed the holos and turned towards the whooshing sound of a pressurized door unlocking. 
 
 “ Bruce, thank you for answering my summons ” she said with a slight nod of acknowledgement. 
 
 The Batman entered the room silently and made his way to an empty monitor station. The expressionless white eyelets of his cowl seemed to gather in the ambient red light giving him a more menacing visage than normal. Before sitting he turned his head towards the Martian Manhunter wordlessly letting his teammate know his feelings on uninvited mental intrusions which seemed to drive the hulking green titan instinctively turning transparent. 
 
 “ What is this about? ” The Dark Knight said to no one in particular. 
 
 “ If I we could wait for the others to arrive we ’ ll be more than happy to get on with things ” Said Wonder Woman. 
 
 “ We? ” 
 
 Before he could continue another set of pressurized doors opened revealing the three most powerful members of the Justice League. 
 
 Superman, as was his way, stepped through first and made his way to his seat beside the Gotham crusader. “ Bruce ” he said with a nod. 
 
 Hal Jordan and Barry Allen took their respective places in somber silence. 
 
 “ Thank you all for coming. I know how difficult it can be to pull away from your individual responsibilities ” Diana said as she waved her hand through the air before her bringing to life another holographic projection visible to all who were gathered. 
 
 “ You brought me here to talk about a spreadsheet? ” Batman said in gravelly voiced annoyance. 
 
 “ Bruce, Mr. Terrific put this together with the hopes we ’ d be able to appeal to the logician within you. Now, if you ’ ll look closely it breaks out by total net worth the wealthiest humans on Earth. As you can see here Bruce, you rank third right now but that number is meaningless since the ranking for the top five can change by the second but suffice it to say you ’ ve never left the top three since you resumed control of Wayne Enterpris- “ 
 
 A raspy unsettling laugh prevented the Princess from continuing. 
 
 “ Bruce? Is there something you ’ d like to say? ” Diana asked with mild annoyance. 
 
 “ I just find it funny that the most powerful beings on the planet asked the third smartest man in the world to put together a spreadsheet about the third richest man in the world. None of you know how to use Excel. I find that hilarious ” The Batman said as all traces of his smile faded from his chiseled from stone jaw. 
 
 “ Diana, why don ’ t you skip ahead to the conclusion ” Superman asked politely. 
 
 “ Fine. Bruce, no one here wants to trivialize your contributions to the League but our analysis has revealed that with your intelligence, will and resources..well, Bruce Wayne could do more for the world than The Batman could ever hope to accomplish. We ’ re talking orders of magnitude here. You could fund the distribution of life saving vaccines across several continents. You could lead the way on the development of high yield-low maintenance crops that could end starvation. If you shared the work you ’ ve done on noncombustible fuel alternatives, the tech you ’ ve used on the Batmobile..you could end your countries dependence on foreign oil. Our projections show a decrease in subsidies for Oil and crop yield would allow the appropriation of funding back to Education across America and its Allies. That means a reduction in crime. Isn ’ t that why you put that cowl on? Why you ’ ve spent a decade punishing your body? So that no one has to fear what lurks in the dark places of Gotham? You have the means to bring light to millions, if not billions. You could be the hand that shapes the 21st Century into a global paradise…You just have to let Bruce Wayne stand in the ligh— “ 
 
 The Batman stood abruptly, his armored fist shattering the glass on his monitor station “ There is no Bruce Wayne! He died at the age of twelve in the same filthy alleyway as his parents. I ca n't believe I'm hearing this. You think because you sit up here like gods looking down from Olympus you have the right to dictate my destiny? Well let me tell you something your highness I wasn ’ t fortunate enough to be plastered together by gods! ” He said with a finger pointed at the towering amazon ’ s face 
 
 “ Bruce, that ’ s not fair ” Superman said soothingly. It had no effect. 
 
 “ My Father didn ’ t get to pick the one planet in the entire cosmos that would let his son have the powers of a god! No my Father died choking on his own blood believing he was too weak to protect his family ” Superman averted his gaze from his teammates tirade. 
 
 “ Are you two in on this as well? ” Batman said as he looked at Green Lantern and The Flash “ Did I get sold out by the only other humans granted passage into Olympus? ” 
 
 “ Its not like that Bruce ” Barry said as he pulled back his mask to reveal his face “ If I was a billionaire I ’ d try to do all the things Diana spoke about. I wouldn ’ t have to risk my life every night…I ’ d get to spend my evenings with Iris..I- “ 
 
 “ That ’ s because you are Barry Allen! You feel guilty every time you don that suit because it pulls you away from your loved ones. I don ’ t have loved ones. They were taken from me- “ 
 
 “ and how long are you going to make the world suffer for that loss? ” J ’ onn said stepping out from the shadows 
 
 “ Stay out of my head, Alien! ” 
 
 “ Bruce, you don ’ t need telepathy to see how your parents death affected you. I know that kind of pain. We all do in some measure –the difference is …we only have our abilities and a desire to help. You have so much more to give this world than your fists and forensic genius…If you could just be reasonable ” 
 
 
 “ Reasonable?! …I ’ ve stood face to face with Darkseid. You think a spreadsheet is enough to make me give up my mantle? ” 
 
 The Batman removed a metal disc from his belt and flung it across the hub “ Consider this my resignation ” He turned to give his former teammates one last look before heading towards the airlocks. 
 
 Diana picked up his transporter receiver as she shook her head “ You ’ d willingly abandon the hopes of a better tomorrow so you can carry on your personal crusade? How long do you think you have Bruce? You ’ re only human. What happens when you die “ 
 
 Superman stood, his hands raised in a defensive posture towards Diana 
 
 “ No Kal, he needs to face some realities. You hear me Bruce? Not if, but when! When you die, your fortune will be dissolved and redistributed and the dream of what it could have accomplished will be as dead as you'' 
 
 “ I told you Princess, there is no Bruce Wayne ” 
 
 The door closed behind him with a whoosh 

