Yes, I started another story before finishing the one I'm on. But this just wouldn't leave me alone! And I'm almost finished with the Collector, just one or two more chapters in the works. So I hope you enjoy this one, featuring a very underused and I think underrated Batman villain, which I really wanted to pit against some of my favorite Young Justice characters. Let me know what you think! :)

"Dude, this place is just creepy."

Robin rolled his eyes. "It's just a museum, KF."

"A creepy museum," Kid Flash argued.

"Creepy or not, this is supposed to be a stealth mission," Kaldur scolded softly.

"Sorry," Kid Flash muttered through his comm link, not sounding remotely apologetic. "Remind me why we're here again instead of at some awesome party? It's Halloween, and Bats has us doing recon!"

Robin fought the urge to roll his eyes again. He dropped silently from an overhanging beam onto the landing below, slipping back into the shadows. "We're here for information. The museum hasn't opened yet, but people have been reporting strange sounds and lights coming from one of the wings. Could be something big."

"Or it could be something lame, like a homeless guy obsessed with dinosaurs," Kid Flash retorted.

"Again, Kid Flash, stealth is the key word in this mission," said Kaldur. "Would you like Robin to define it for you?"

"I got it, I got it," Kid Flash grumbled. "Shutting up. But after this we are so going to a party."

Robin shook his head with a grin as he slid silently down the hall. What little moonlight there was in the sky cast an eerie glow on the exhibits, and Robin silently had to concede that Wally was right. This place was creepy.

"Anything?" he asked quietly after hitting another dead end with no sign of intruders.

"Nothing on my end," Kaldur replied.

"I found a statue of a caveman that looks like Superboy," Kid Flash offered.

"Astrous," Robin peered around the corner, and seeing no one, headed down the corridor. "Heading to the wildlife exhibits."

Robin ducked under velvet rope blocking off the nocturnal section of the wing. He passed stuffed owls, rodents, and wild cats, with no sign that anyone had been there. He was starting to give up this mission as a dud when a sign caught his eye.

"No way," he scoffed, looking at the featured exhibit. "Creatures of the Night! Gotham's Natural History Museum presents Night of the Bat!"

He turned the corner and entered the great exhibit hall, his eyes widening at the sight. Bats were everywhere. The moon's glow filtered through the skylight, showing massive silhouettes of paper-mache bats hanging all over the ceiling, casting familiar shadows on the ground. A massive exhibit stood in the center of the room, depicting a rocky cave, its ceiling also covered in bats, with a large sign detailing the different species. Everywhere Robin looked, there were bats.

Just as he was about to radio KF, who would undoubtedly appreciate the irony of the exhibit, Robin caught sight of light underneath one of the side doors at the back of the hall.

Immediately, Robin shifted into a crouch, ducking behind a large poster about vampire bats. "I got something."

"Finally," Kid Flash breathed. "Where are you?"

"Nocturnal section, the great exhibit hall. Signs of life at the back of the room," he muttered quietly. "Moving closer to assess."

"Negative. Almost at your position, standby," Kaldur replied.

"Ditto."

Robin quickly scanned the hall, not satisfied to wait, and saw a service desk filled with monitors. Slipping silently behind the desk, Robin attached his wrist computer to one of the towers and began to hack. Being a museum, the security was minimal, and it only took seconds for Robin to break in and access the security cameras.

"A bat exhibit? Are you freaking kidding me?" Kid Flash suddenly breathed in his ear.

Robin grinned. "It is Gotham."

"What have you found?" Kaldur crouched with them behind the desk.

Robin scanned the footage, his eyes narrowing. "Looks like one of the guys working on this exhibit is nocturnal himself. Look at this. Every night this week, this same employee stays way later than the rest of his colleagues. He goes into that back room and doesn't come out for hours."

"Any idea which employee?" Kaldur peered over his shoulder.

"Running a scan now," Robin frowned. "There. Dr. Kirk Langstrom."

"Ooookay, so a boring, middle aged scientist is a workaholic. Mystery solved! Can we go now?" Kid Flash asked impatiently.

"Not yet, we need to find out what he's doing here. In Gotham, things like this are rarely harmless," Robin pointed out.

"Can you access live footage of that room?" Kaldur nodded towards the light at the back of the hall.

"No problem," Robin typed away furiously. Seconds later, video feed popped up on his wrist computer.

The room looked like it was meant for storage, but had been turned into a makeshift laboratory. It was fully lit, but empty.

"Cause that's not suspicious at all," Robin remarked. "Let's go check it out."

"He could be back at any moment," Kaldur cautioned.

"So we'll make it fast," Robin stood, unplugging from the computer tower.

"Fast is my middle name," Kid Flash grinned and vanished.

Robin and Kaldur followed him quickly over to the door, which the teen had already found unlocked. The three heroes slipped inside, Kaldur immediately taking a lookout position by the entrance.

Robin peered at the chemist equipment placed meticulously all over the long tables and stacks of crates. He tapped one of the bubbling vials, frowning when it altered color slightly just from the vibrations.

"What do you think?" he asked KF, who was rifling through a stack of detailed notes.

"The guy definitely has an unhealthy obsession with bats," KF commented, picking out a piece of paper and reading it intently.

"Besides the obvious?"

"There's a lot of research here on deafness," KF read. "I could be wrong but…it looks like he's developing a serum to cure it using glands from bats."

"Seriously?" Robin peered over his shoulder, eyebrows raised.

"Not exactly the evil mad scientist stuff we're used to," Kid Flash replied. "Why is he doing this stuff here though?"

"Probably because he doesn't have the funding to do it on his own. Look," Robin pointed at one of the documents. "He's been denied by all of these research groups and universities. Most of this equipment is probably stolen."

"Someone is coming," warned Kaldur. "Take cover."

The three heroes darted into the darkness. Robin shot upwards, scaling a set of industrial shelves and squeezing himself on the highest shelf behind some boxes. He watched as the door suddenly opened, not a moment too soon, and a man stepped into the room.

Dr. Kirk Langstrom looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. His clothes were in complete disarray, his hair desperately needed to be washed, and even his large glasses couldn't hide the dark circles under his eyes. Robin also noted the hearing aids the man wore. Obviously the work was personal for him, then. Steaming coffee mug in hand, he approached his work station, gazing down at his work with frustration.

Dr. Langstrom yawned, and Robin had to fight the urge to do the same. Great. Now they were stuck in here for who knows how long until the scientist decided to go home. Kid Flash must be fighting the urge to knock his head against the wall.

Well, he might as well just get comfortable. Robin shifted, slowly and silently, trying to find a spot where his legs wouldn't fall asleep.

An hour later, the scientist was still hard at work, and it wasn't exactly the most riveting thing to watch. Robin yawned again, knowing his teammates must be as miserable as him. This sucked. Investigating this room had been a mistake. He was honestly surprised that Kid Flash hadn't lost it and just burst out of the room.

"Oh my God!" the sudden shout broke the silence, startling Robin so badly, he knocked his head on the ceiling. Eyes watering, and mentally cursing, Robin looked at the scientist, whose hands were almost pulling out his hair. His eyes were wide with excitement, and it looked like he was trembling.

"I did it! I actually did it!"

Robin's eyes widened. There was no way this average guy had just discovered the cure for deafness in a storage room in a museum, was there?

Dr. Langstrom laughed, a wild sound, as he poured over his papers and looked at the yellow serum sitting in the vial before him. "They told me I was a fool, that I was wasting my time! But I did it!"

With shaking hands, Dr. Langstrom reached out and picked up the vial. Robin tensed, his eyes narrowing. He wasn't actually going to try it on himself, was he? The scientist raised the vial to his lips.

"No, wait!" Kid Flash was suddenly standing in front of him on the other side of the table, hands outstretched in warning. But it was too late. The scientist had already tipped the vial into his mouth.

Dr. Langstrom coughed and spluttered, his eyes widening in shock. "Who-ack- who are you? What the hell are you doing here?!"

Kid Flash opened his mouth to answer, when the scientist suddenly cried out in pain, doubling over with his arms wrapped around his middle. He shook violently as he skin flushed and dripped with sweat. His glasses fell to the floor seconds before he did, his back arching.

Crap.

Robin slid from his hiding place and landed on the floor, his eyes wide as the scientist began seizing, his eyes rolling backwards.

Kaldur rushed forward, kneeling next to the man. His hands ghosted over him, unsure of what to do.

"I tried to stop him," Kid Flash said quickly. "His serum, there was something off about it, something really wrong-"

Before he could continue, the sound of breaking bones and stretching skin filled the air as Dr. Langstrom's body convulsed and twisted unnaturally.

"Get back!" shouted Kid Flash, yanking Kaldur and Robin away as the scientist's body began to change. The man's screams had turned into animalistic roars, and Robin swore his body was actually getting bigger.

"What the hell's happening to him?" he shouted over the roars.

The man's body lunged suddenly to his feet, and something shot out and hit the light. It began swinging violently back and forth, illuminating the shadowed form of the scientist one second, and sending him in darkness the next.

The scientist, the creature, Robin corrected quickly, turned to face them, his massive body looming over them even though he was hunched over. It was hideous, with brown leather skin stretching over enormous muscles, long arms and legs that ended in razor sharp claws, and its face…it was a twisted cross between a man and a bat, with huge pointed ears, narrowed yellow eyes, and a large panting mouth filled with dagger like fangs. It reared its head back and roared, and a gigantic set of leathery wings unfolded from his back.

"Oh shit," Kid Flash swore, his eyes huge.

Robin had to agree.