"It'll just be a few more minutes, Batman is on his way to the Zeta tube; we can start when he arrives," Superman assured the gathered heroes, that ever present confidence oozing from every pore.
"How do you know that? You didn't get any communication that I noticed," Captain Marvel frowned at Superman. He had his own enhanced senses, though they were a far cry from those of the Big Blue Boy Scout—he didn't see Superman check his League communicator, nor did he hear anything from the comms.
"I have his heartbeat memorized, I can track him from that," Superman shrugged, as if that was a perfectly normal thing to A.) Be capable of, and B.) Actually do.
"Gaaaaaaaaaay," Captain Marvel called out, hands cupped around his mouth as he sniggered.
"Captain!" Wonder Woman snapped at him. Marvel jolted to attention.
"What?" He asked, guilelessly.
"We do not tolerate any sort of bigotry or hate speech in these hallowed halls. If you cannot display even a modicum of respect for your fellow heroes you will not be welcome in this group," her proclamation was icy, her eyes hard. Superman's own expression had gone tense and shuttered, and the other assembled League members seemed to be shuffling as far away from their newest recruit as they could without being noticed.
"I... I wasn't though?" Marvel looked confused. "It's a meme." Wonder Woman and Superman shared a look.
"A meme, like a joke," Superman started, but was abruptly cut off.
"Well, kind of, I guess. But I meant it more like an observation," Marvel insisted. "I mean—okay, can you do that trick with anyone on Earth?" Superman paused, momentarily caught of guard.
"With practice, yes, I am capable of memorizing any heartbeat," he confirmed.
"And how many do you know off-hand?" Marvel pressed.
"A handful," Superman answered with no hesitation.
"Alright, and who are they? I'm not asking for names or anything, but like... that reporter you always talk to? Your friends? These guys?" Marvel inclined his head towards the knot of forgotten league members that were observing with slowly mounting horror.
"My family," Superman corrected, this time with some hesitation.
"Oh, well why didn't you just say that! I didn't know you and Bats were related," Marvel brightened considerably, clearly thrilled to uncover this heretofore yet unknown bit of juicy gossip.
"We're not," Superman frowned. Marvel's grin dimmed as he stared at the man that had been his personal hero for as long as he could remember with an expression that clearly showed his mounting dismay and disappointment in him.
"Let me make sure I understand this—you have Batman's heartbeat memorized, a thing that you've only done for a small handful of close family members and no one else, and you think there's a heterosexual explanation for that?" Marvel spoke slowly and clearly, as if he really were just trying to make sense of it all. Superman opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to choke on an intake of breath.
"Regardless, Captain, it is inappropriate to use such derogatory language with your fellow League members," Wonder Woman swiftly cut in, saving Superman from whatever he was about to try and say.
"There's nothing wrong with being gay! I wasn't insulting him at all—besides, all I'm saying is that if I could do that, I'd for sure be checking on my boyfriend like all the time," Marvel shrugged again.
"Boyfriend?" Superman echoed.
"Yes! I'm not a bigot, you guys, Mercury's mercy, I'm bisexual!" He threw his hands up, thoroughly finished with the conversation. "Whatever. Think on it, Big Blue, I'm sure you two will figure it out eventually," he concluded with all the weight of the Wisdom of Solomon. The hall seemed to drip with silence, none of the attending League members daring to break it. That supremely awkward stillness hung in the air for a heart-clenching fifteen seconds before the soft whistling of the door sliding open saved them all.
"Good, you're all here. Are we ready to begin?" Batman strode in, a stack of papers held under one arm as he beelined for the round table.
"Yeah—yes, we are," Superman cleared his throat, nodding at the Bat to get started.
"Gayyyyyyyy," Marvel repeated, softly enough he was sure only Superman would hear. Judging by the way the tips of his ears went vibrantly pink, Marvel believed he might have just stumbled onto something here.