Looking back a year ago, you never would have guessed you would end up here, on the Watchtower of the Justice League, awaiting your official admittance into the exclusive club of superheroes. Back then you were just a scientist working in the field of nanotechnology. Your lab was seeking to pioneer the field of medical nanobots; treating the untreatable. But to that point, you had been unable to replicate the success of your simulations when testing the real thing.

Unfortunately, you were running out of time. You had been diagnosed with a rare and uncurable degenerative disease and without a working prototype, your days were numbered. Finally, the trials had shown enough promise to allow for the first human test. You volunteered yourself to be the guinea pig. After receiving the injection of nanobots, things unexpectedly went downhill fast. The tiny robots not only targeted the diseased cells, but also seemed to be targeting other cells at random. This sent your body into shock and ultimately, your team was unable to save you. Or so they thought.

You woke up a couple days later in line waiting to be cremated. Once you got your bearings, you had the presence of mind to label a box of ashes as your own before slipping out the back. It turns out that the nanobots had targeted any perceived weakness in your body. You hadn't been a slob by any means, but you weren't exactly captain of the football team either. The changes had been drastic enough that the nanobots had to "kill" you in order to complete their task. They had managed to sustain you throughout the process though, even if it appeared as though you were dead.

The changes had not only cured your disease, but also got rid of any scars and wrinkles while giving you a more chiseled, youthful appearance. You were worried at first that someone might recognize you, but looking in the mirror, you barely recognized yourself anymore. Your short brown hair no longer had the flecks of grey that had appeared in recent years and you no longer needed to wear glasses as your eyesight was now perfect. In fact, in the months that followed, you learned that the nanobots were still active within your body. Cuts healed nearly instantly. Eating and sleeping became optional rather than necessary as the bots were capable of sustaining you now as they had during your "death."

Your old life was dead, so you moved yourself across the country and started a new one. It was the fantasy of many a super-nerd to have superpowers and for all intents and purposes, you now had them. So you got to work. You trained in several forms of martial arts, which was drastically sped up by the whole not needing to sleep thing. The ol' engineering degree came in handy as you whipped up a few little gadgets to aid in your exploits. And you put together a bodysuit padded with a kevlar-like material. Durable, but also silent and lightweight. After coming back from the dead once, you didn't really feel like trying that again, so you started out small time with muggers and whatnot. Because of your unknown identity and the black ninja-like suit you wore, the media started referring to you as "The Shadow."

After a while, you stumbled into bigger and bigger things, occasionally teaming up with the better known superheroes. And eventually that path led you here. Initiation day.

"Ahem... I said, are you ready for your first official mission, Shadow?"

A voice brings you out of your daydream. You look up and find yourself face to face with the one and only Batman. -Way to make a good first impression- you think to yourself. "Oh sorry. Yes sir. I'm ready," you finally respond.

"Good. Now as I was saying, we're sending you in to investigate a possible bioterrorist weapons lab. Given your past experience in the biomedical field, this seems like a good one for you to get your feet wet on. For your first few missions, we'll team you up with one of our more senior members. She'll be waiting for you down at the shuttle bay. The rest of the intel can be found on the shuttle's computers. Good luck."

And with that, he shakes your hand and walks off, leaving you alone in the meeting room. You excitedly hurry down to the shuttle bay to meet your chaperone. Batman definitely said "she," so you're pretty pumped to get to work with one of the most powerful superheroines in the world. You make it down to the shuttle bay and see a familiar face waving at you.