Welcome to chapter four, Constant Readers! Sorry it's been awhile.

Let's begin.

Man Bat-Shit Insanity!

Why do they even bother? Dan thought as he and Batman sat in the Batmobile, which was speeding through the streets as the car of Detectives Bennett and Yin was in pursuit. They must have figured out by now that they can't keep up properly, so why do they still bother? It both confused and exasperated him. He would have liked just one night on the job where they weren't being bothered by the police constantly.

"Have you ever tried talking to the cops about all this?" asked Dan. "I know it wouldn't be an ideal meeting, but trying to come to some arrangement with them would be a hell of a lot easier than having to run from them every bloody night."

"The police are very anti-vigilante," said Batman, never breaking his gaze from the road. "If we tried to talk, they'd just pull their guns and try to arrest us. Do you want to be in a situation where you have to fight a police officer to get out of it?"

"I suppose not," Dan reluctantly admitted. "Still, it'd make this job a lot fucking easier if they worked with us rather than against us."

"Language." Batman turned the Batmobile around a sharp corner.

"Oh, come on, not you, too! Alfred's constantly giving me shit about my language around the house, this is the one place I can speak how I like."

"In the house, I really don't care how you speak. But when we're in uniform, we need to set a good example."

"To who? We're the only ones in the bloody car!"

"Not the point." Batman engaged the thrusters and sped up the Batmobile, effectively leaving the police car in the dust. "These costumes aren't just to hide our identities, Dan. They represent who we are, who we want to be. When we're in these uniforms, we act like ideal citizens."

"Who happen to beat up criminals."

"Exactly."

"… You know, sometimes I can't tell whether you're being serious or not." Dan sighed. "What do you think of 'Airhead' as a name?"

"I think it makes you sound like an idiot," Batman said bluntly.

"… Yeah, I get that." Dan sighed. "This is a lot harder than they make it look in the comics. You had it easy – you've got that whole bat motif going – but I look like I just crawled out of some fantasy story about assassins, it's hard to get a good name out of that. I considered going with 'Airbender,' but that was just way too derivative."

"… Well, it's good to know you're taking something seriously."

"I'm taking it all seriously. In the relatively near future, I won't even need to hold onto you when you grapple onto places."

"Are you referring to that little 'project' of yours?"

"Damn straight."

"I look forward to seeing it. What are you hoping to accomplish with some wood and the material for my cape?"

Dan grinned at him. "I'm reaching for the sky."

"I … I don't think I can do this Alfred …"

"You can, Master Dan! You mustn't be intimidated!"

"B-But some of them are so big!"

"Size doesn't matter when you have determination!"

"B-But Alfred …" Dan whimpered out, "… there are just so many windows in this house!"

After several weeks of Dan sitting around and watching TV, reading books, and such while Bruce was away at Wayne Enterprises, Alfred had decided that Dan should do some work around the house. He would never admit it out loud, but Wayne Manor was an awful lot of work for one man whose best years were behind him. So Alfred was taking this opportunity to take Dan on as an assistant of sorts. He had thought that starting Dan off on something as easy as window-cleaning would make things simpler … he thought wrong.

"I'll hear no complaints!" Alfred said in a commanding voice. "Need I remind you that you are living in this house free of charge, without attending any sort of education, and you spend the vast majority of your time doing nothing productive?"

"I've been working on my thing!" Dan exclaimed in desperation. "It's an important thing! A 'me not getting Bruce and I killed because Bruce has to wait for me to grab onto him so he can grapple' thing! A thing!"

"Your 'thing' can wait," Alfred said with finality. "I'll not have you become one of those typical lazy teenagers who has everything handed to them on a silver platter!"

Dan huffed. "Fine," he said. "I'll clean the stupid windows."

"Thank you," said Alfred, who then walked off.

Dan picked up the glass-cleaning spray and the dry rag and walked over to one of the many overly-large windows that were dotted about Wayne Manor. He sprayed it, started to wipe it, and took a moment to reflect on things.

His superhero career was going rather well so far. He had helped stop one major villain – though Penguin probably wasn't the biggest deal – and there were probab— certainly more on the horizon. The little "project" he was working on was coming along fine, though he was still trying to get it working in the way he wanted it to, and even when he'd done that, he'd have to test it out somewhere.

Then there were his powers. He still wasn't very strong compared to some of the villains he though— knew they'd be fighting soon. It was imperative that he develop his powers and grow stronger so that he might be of some actual use when the fighting starts again. He remembered how he'd panicked when faced with Bane and had been given a concussion as a reward; he remembered how his wind blasts hadn't so much as shaken the overweight Penguin. He was going to have to get stronger, or else risk becoming a detriment to Bruce.

And then there was the memory replacement issue …

Already he was starting to merely suspect things that he had downright known before. The identities of certain people were blurring from his mind, important events in the future were practically non-existent in his memories. He remembered his family less and less, remembered a life on the streets of Gotham more and more, and this sudden change in memories was terrifying him.

What if he broke the rules without realising and caused the universe to implode?

The responsibility he would hold in such a situation was so staggering that his legs started to wobble and he had to support himself by placing a hand against the window he had just cleaned. He would … write it all down! Yes, that was it! It was so simple! He would write down everything he could remember as quickly as he could, and then he would refer to that information in the future! It was perfect!

Now calm, he took his hand away from the window … and near enough flipped out upon realising he was now going to have to clean it again.

"They really thought you'd be stupid enough to keep a massive amount of bats for pets?" Dan asked incredulously. Bruce was back at the mansion now and had told Dan and Alfred what had happened with Yin, Ethan, and Langstrom. Dan, to his immense relief, found that he could remember that Langstrom was soon going to become Man Bat, but the other details were rather fuzzy. "Come one! Even a casual observer could tell you're smarter than that! Bloody cops …"

"I'll admit that I'm a little insulted that they thought I'd be that obvious," said Bruce, who was holding a mug of steaming hot coffee. Then a smile came over his face. "But Ethan sure gave me a scare when I walked in this morning. I felt like I was gonna have a heart attack until he started laughing."

"I believe we have more important things to be discussing than the police's convenient lack of brain cells," said Alfred. He addressed Bruce directly. "Are you quite certain that allowing Dr Langstrom to continue his bat research was the wisest decision, Master Bruce? Giving Detective Yin a reason to sniff around Wayne Industries could spell disaster."

"Lagstrom's on the verge of a breakthrough, Alfred," said Bruce.

"In scientific terms, sir, 'on the verge' could mean years," said Alfred.

"At the very least you could get him to brighten up his lab," Dan suggested. "Give the bats their own enclosure or something. A lab that dark is bound to warrant suspicion, no matter what kind of research he's doing. From what you say, it sounds like the place has a serious horror film vibe to it."

"I'll try to make his working environment less like Dracula's lair," Bruce agreed. "But before that, maybe Bruce Wayne can offer some charity on a personal level."

Alfred let out a sigh. "Do what you must, sir," he said. "But do try to keep the police from investigating you or your staff. The last thing you want is unwanted attention." He glanced at Dan so quickly that Dan didn't even notice. "Getting caught no longer affects you alone, Master Bruce."

A thoughtful look came across Bruce's face.

And … done! Dan thought happily as he finished writing down everything he could remember about The Batman, Teen Titans, and Young Justice – he still didn't know which of the latter two he was going to be heading into after his time in Gotham comes to an end, so it was better to be prepared for both eventualities. Good God, I think Bruce is rubbing off on me.

Not that that was a bad thing, of course. Dan just didn't ever want to reach the typical Batman level of paranoia.

Dan bound the rather large stack of paper he had used in a folder. On the front of the folder, he wrote, READ ME IF HAVING MEMORY TROUBLE! and then shoved it in one of the drawers on his bedside table. He was hoping that his memory replacement only counted for what came before he entered this world and that everything he did to combat it would remain in his memory, even if he didn't understand why he was doing the things he was doing. Hoping was really all he could do.

As one would expect from a house as large as Wayne Manor, Dan's bedroom was so big it would make any teenage boy cream in his pants. The room was pretty bare at the moment, simply containing a double-bed, a large flat-screen TV, and a bookcase that Dan was rapidly filling up with reading material. Dan planned on covering the walls with posters and such, getting a few more book shelves – he was a big reader – and maybe bringing in a few bean bags he and some others could lounge about on if he ever had company.

Not sure who that'd be, though, he thought, flopped out on his bed. I still don't know anybody other than Bruce and Alfred. Maybe once Batgirl and Robin turn up, but …

Dan had tried to stave it off for awhile, knowing he had bigger problems on his hands, but there was one fact that was slowly creeping up on him: he was starting to get lonely. He liked Bruce and Alfred, but he was still a fourteen-year-old boy who had been in another world with only two adults for company for about four months, now. He needed somebody his own age to spend time with, or else he might end up becoming a social recluse. Being a recluse may well be a better idea for the superhero life, but it would also make him more suspicious to others. Questions like "Why doesn't he talk to anybody?" and "Why is he almost never out of the house?" would start occurring to people when he eventually became a known individual, so he couldn't afford to be anti-social.

Just got rid of some stress, and more come right on along, he thought unhappily. "Oh, how fine and fucking dandy," he muttered.

It then occurred to him that it would be wise if he finished his little project by tonight.

They were going to be dealing with a creature with wings, after all.

Dan was jolted awake from his rather uncomfortable position on the floor of the Batcave when the Batmobile started up seemingly of its own accord. Dan knew immediately that meant Bruce was calling it, so he grabbed what he had been working on (which he had finished briefly before nodding off) and ran for the Batmobile as fast as his legs could carry him. Luckily enough, he made it just as the damn thing started driving out of the cave.

For fuck sake, this is just what I need, he thought with gritted teeth as he clung to the outside. With a series of grunts, he managed to pull himself to the top of the car and pull it open. He figured that Bruce must have conceived some way to have the car recognise him, as the security systems normally wouldn't allow anything like this to happen.

Once he was inside the Batmobile, Dan left the long wooden staff he had been making propped up against one of the windows and went to the back, where the uniforms were kept in case of emergency. He had never changed in the Batmobile before, so the cramped space proved to be something of an issue. He even kicked the window by accident at one point. When he had finally gotten his suit on, he moved to sit in his seat near the front of the car … then had to go back again because he realised he'd forgotten to put on his mask.

The Batmobile suddenly slowed down and went into an alleyway for no apparent reason.

He's not alone, Dan deduced. The only reason Bruce would have stopped the Batmobile was if there was somebody there to see him. So Dan just waited patiently for the Batmobile to start moving again.

It took only a few minutes.

The Batmobile pulled up outside of the Wayne Enterprises building. Bruce was stood outside, looking more than a little stressed out.

"What've we got?" Dan asked when the Batmobile opened up.

"Langstrom's turned himself into a giant bat monster," said Bruce, pulling out his suit from the back of the car.

"Wow …" Dan said. "When I said his lab sounded like something out of a horror film, I didn't think he'd try to go Chronenburg."

Bruce glanced at the staff in the car. "Is that what you've been working on?" he asked.

"Yep," Dan said, nodding. "I know it doesn't look like much, but it should be able to do some pretty cool shit. Pardon my French."

"Pardoned. What do you mean 'should?'"

"Well, I haven't tested it out yet. I finished it earlier, then fell asleep on the floor of the Batcave. My neck is killing me."

"You'll live. Good job on getting in the car before it could drive off without you, by the way."

"Thanks. It was no easy feat, believe you me."

Bruce was now fully decked out in his Batman suit. He climbed into the car, shut the roof, and then drove off.

"Alfred, anything unusual on the Batwave?" Bruce asked into a communicator.

"Let's have a look," came Alfred's voice from the other end of the line. "Would the discovery of several mammals found completely drained of blood qualify?"

"Langstrom couldn't have used fruit bats?" Batman muttered under his breath.

"That 'Dracula's lair' joke of yours isn't so funny anymore, Batman," said Dan.

"Begging your pardon, sirs?" said Alfred.

"Let's just say I'm no longer the only bat in town," said Batman.

"You seeing that?" Dan asked suddenly, pointing to the left-hand side of the car. In the air, silhouetted against the full moon, was a giant man-sized bat.

"Am now," said Batman. He turned the Batmobile down that direction and drove until they were practically right under Man Bat, then started driving after him.

It was then that both heroes noticed that he was flying right toward a balcony on which stood a man with a telescope. Probably a stargazer, Dan surmised. Still, the man was in danger, so they had to act before Man Bat could go full vampire on an actual human being.

Batman swerved the Batmobile to a stop, opened it up, and both heroes got out.

Batman shot his grappling hook up to a building, and Dan opened his staff.

It was some sort of Glider, Batman could see. The fabric was black, showing that it was, indeed, made from the same material as his own cape. It looked rather simple in design, but Batman couldn't help but be impressed by how much work must have gone into making that glider fit into a staff as thin as the one Dan had just opened up. Rather than stand around and wait to see if it worked, however, Batman activated his grappling hook and pulled himself up the building.

Dan held the glider behind his back, as he had seen Aang do in Avatar: The Last Airbender many times before. There was no doubt that he was straight-up ripping off one of his favourite shows in making this thing, but he had specifically requested the aerokinesis as "airbending" rather than its actual name, so he was already pretty guilty of that.

Dan took a deep breath and jumped up from the floor, leaning forward slightly, and willed the air to gather below him and push up against the fabric of the glider. He closed his eyes in anticipation of the fall he was sure was coming … but it never came.

Dan opened his eyes and realised that he was hovering above the ground.

Grinning, Dan looked upwards and willed the air to really push against the glider, and he rapidly started to rise into the air. So rapidly, in fact, that he gave a start and nearly lost his concentration and started falling. He managed to keep himself in the air, however, if somewhat wobbly and awkwardly. He rose quickly to be on-level with Batman on the building he had grappled onto.

If Batman was impressed he gave no indication of the fact. He was focused on saving the man Man Bat was going after.

Batman started running along the rooftops toward the building Man Bat was aiming for. The giant, white-furred bat creature flew rapidly through the air toward his target.

Dan decided to keep pushing himself in terms of using the glider. He wanted to fully understand his capabilities so he knew that to improve upon in the future.

He leaned forward and used the wind to push him forward. He moved a lot faster than he had been anticipating, even bypassing Batman as he ran across the rooftops, and before he'd had time to even register what was happening, he had collided head first with Man Bat, who let out a shriek of surprise and rage at the sudden interruption.

The man was saved, but Dan had lost his grip on his staff.

Panicking, he used one hand to grab onto his staff, and the other to grab onto the nearest thing: one of Man Bat's giant ears.

Man Bat let out an animalistic shriek at the pulling of his ear and started flying around erratically. Dan struggled to hold on, so threw his other hand, which was still holding his now-closed staff, around Man Bat's neck, pulling upwards so the staff was straining against Man Bat's throat and Dan was sitting on the beast's back. He was starting to worry very much about his current situation. Man Bat flew uncontrollably around corners, down streets, over buildings, anywhere he could. And Dan had completely lost track of where Batman was.

Why the hell did I have to do this!? Dan cried in his mind. I could've just left it to Bruce! I know he could've handled it. But no! I couldn't just train with this thing like a normal person, I just had to put it to use in the field before I'm used to using it! For FUCK sake, Dan, you actual retard!

Eventually, Dan got his nerve back and saw they were close enough to the ground for him to floor Man Bat and still be safe. That in mind, he moved his arms so that the elbow on his left arm was hooked around Man Bat's neck while the hand still held the staff, and he brought his right hand up in a fist and started punching Man Bat in the head. Each punch was to the forehead, so even if they weren't doing much damage, that spot was going to start throbbing after enough punches. Sure enough, Man Bat got lower and lower, until he eventually hit the ground, falling into a roll which Dan was also a part of.

The two of them flew apart as they rolled along the street, Dan's hood falling down in the process. Luckily, his staff was perfectly safe.

"Great jump, but a little rough on the landing," he said, standing up and dusting himself off with his right hand. "I think I'll have to settle for the bronze."

Man Bat, who was a mere few feet away from him, stood up and roared.

Then, in what looked to be a very painful process, he transformed back into a human. Langstrom was a skinny older man with intense brown eyes and a mop of white hair. He glared at Dan heatedly.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"Someone who just kicked your ugly flying ass," said Dan.

"I wanted Batman, but you're telling me I got some brat just playing hero!?" Langstrom looked and sounded livid.

"You got both. I'm just the one who got to you first."

"And do you think you can stop me?" Langstrom pulled a vial of bright pink liquid out of his pocket. "Two more doses of my formula and Man Bat will rule the night forever!" He went to drink it … only for a small gust of wind to knock it from his hand and make it smash on the floor.

"You could've at least turned around and started running first," said Dan, tutting. "All the talking, all the monologues … Do all bad guys just run their mouths at every opportunity? It's generally very detrimental to your plans."

Langstrom looked at Dan with gritted teeth, then turned around and started running away.

Dan thought about making a quip about how that was the only vaguely smart decision Langstrom had made so far, but then a cop car pulled up right between him and the man running away. Bennett and Yin got out of the car and pointed their guns at Dan.

"Freeze!" Yin yelled. "Give it up!"

"Yin, he's just a kid," Bennett said to his partner after getting a good look at Dan, who, thanks to his hood being down, only had his mask to protect his identity.

"Who has been seen in collaboration with The Batman," Yin argued. She levelled a stern glare at Dan, almost like a teacher scolding a student in school. "Kid, I'm gonna give you one chance to cooperate, and you might get off light. Now, tell me: where is Langstrom?"

"Oh, my God," said Dan. "You still think that stick figure is Batman. That's actually hilarious." He cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave now."

A sudden gust of wind hit both detectives in their eyes, causing them to blink rapidly and move to shield them. Dan used his distraction to open up his staff and fly into the air, coming to a landing on a nearby building. The incredibly confused state the two detectives were in was rather amusing to him.

The sound of someone landing on the building with him caught Dan's attention.

"Good job," said Batman. "But don't go off on your own like that again. You still don't have enough experience in the field. Now come on, let's find Langstrom before he hurts someone."

"We might have a few minutes," said Dan as they got moving. "He turned human again just before those two showed up. He said he only needs two more doses of his formula before the change becomes permanent."

"Then we need to stop that from happening."

They kept to the rooftops as much as they could during the short search. Langstrom had run into one of the alleyways, and he, for the time being, didn't have the ability to fly anymore. They were certain that they could find him if they had the higher ground. But, surprisingly, it was Yin who found him first.

They found her behind him after locking him in handcuffs. Judging from his calm demeanour, they both thought it safe to assume he had taken some of the formulae.

"You are making a big mistake, detective," said Langstrom.

Batman jumped down into the alley behind them. "He's right," he said. "He's more dangerous than he looks."

Dan jumped down in front of them. "To your credit, though, you did get the 'bat' part right," he said.

"Okay, so …" Yin breathed out, "you're not The Batman. And you're not Langstrom."

"And you might wanna take a step back," said Dan.

Langstrom was transforming again. His teeth sharpened, his eyes turned wholly red, he grew white fur all over his body. His bone structure changed, making a series of grotesque cracking sounds as it did so. The handcuffs broke off his hands as his wings grew beneath his arms. He spread his arms/wings out and roared loudly, knocking Yin backwards and into Batman in the process. Man Bat's hateful red eyes locked onto Dan and he growled.

"Oh, shit," Dan said a mere second before the giant bat-creature tackled him to the ground.

"Freeze, you … bat thing!" Bennett's voice came from behind where Dan was currently being pinned down by a very pissed off monster.

"Yeah, nice try, mate!" Dan managed to growl out. He looked angry, but on the inside, he was panicking. Man Bat fed on blood – Dan did not want to be Langstrom's next meal! He managed to get a hand up and punch Man Bat in the face. Once, twice, three times, but the monster never budged.

It roared in Dan's face, spraying saliva everywhere.

"Ah, your breath stinks!" Dan yelled, still trying to knock Man Bat off. He felt too closed in by being pinned down to effectively use his powers, and his staff had been knocked away from him.

And that was before Man Bat had picked him up and started carrying him into the air.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Dan thought in a panic as he was carried high above the streets of Gotham. Going after him was a bad idea, a very bad idea! Oh, my God, I'm gonna die! This can't be happening! How can this be happening!?

Dan was starting to hyperventilate. He had tried to get involved with fights against the villains before now, but this was the first time he had actually been in the fight. And this, the first time he had gotten directly involved in the fighting, had led to him being the main fucking target of the villain in question. He was quickly coming to realise that the hero life was going be putting him directly within the line of fire for a very long time if he kept up this career path.

Assuming he survived the night, that was.

The sun was starting to come up. Man Bat started flying low, close to the ground, until he came across a sewer grate. He flew straight down, smashing his way through it so that he didn't have to land and drop Dan in order to get through, then he started to fly through the tunnels. He flew on and on until he reached a wide open area of the sewers, then he flew upwards and dropped Dan to the sewage-covered ground, flapping his wings and staring down at him hungrily.

But Dan knew that he wasn't there just for food.

He had pissed off the giant bat, and the giant bat wanted payback. This was personal.

Dan, calmer now that he was back on the ground, stood up and got his fists into a fighting position. If Man Bat wanted him, then he could damn well come and get him.

"Come on, then, you furry fucker!" Dan challenged.

Man Bat roared and swooped down. Dan rolled forward to dodge the swoop, feeling disgusted at all the various bodily fluids he was rolling through as he did so. He turned back around to find Man Bat swooping at him again, and this time Dan ducked to the side.

Man Bat landed, turned around, and stared Dan down.

Dan stared right back.

Man Bat roared and charged forward. Dan charged, too. Dan swung a fist at Man Bat's stomach as the two collided, but it appeared to do nothing, as Dan was tackled to the ground again, only this time it was a wetter, worse-smelling experience. Man Bat thrust his head forward, trying to bite Dan's face, but Dan moved his head to the right. Man Bat tried it again, but Dan moved his head to the left. Being unable to push Man Bat off of him, Dan thought of something that he hoped would work in the same way it would if Langstrom was still in human form.

He brought his knee up and sent it colliding with Man Bat's crotch.

Man Bat let out a shriek of pain and rage and jumped off of Dan, flying up and latching himself onto the ceiling. He roared down at Dan with an obvious hatred.

Dan stood up and glared right back.

Then he thought of something.

Haven't combined my aerokinesis with physical combat before, but it's worth a go if it keeps me alive, he thought.

Man Bat crouched on the ceiling in an obvious pouncing position. He was preparing to swoop again.

But this time Dan wouldn't dodge.

Dan pulled his fist back and started to will the air to circle around it rapidly, to the point where it became visible.

Man Bat leapt forward with his wings spread.

Dan willed the air to circle even faster around his fist.

Man Bat bared his fangs for the kill as he flew closer to Dan.

Dan threw his fist forward and forced the air to plough into Man Bat's face.

Dan saw what happened next in slow motion. It looked almost like Man Bat stopped dead in mid-air upon collision with his fist. Then the spinning air, now all compressed against Man Bat's face, did its work and sent Man Bat flying backwards. Man Bat collided with the sewer wall and fell down, several pieces of brick following after him. He didn't move, but he was breathing.

Dan had knocked him out cold.

Dan let out a sigh of relief and let himself fall back onto his ass. He didn't even care that he was sitting in the sewage right now. He had never used his powers this much in one night before, which really said something about how much he trained. He promised himself he'd do more training in future, he just needed somewhere to do it where he wouldn't risk breaking something important or being seen.

The sound of running in the tunnel caught Dan's attention. Batman came running into the room but stopped dead upon taking in the scene before him.

"You beat him," Batman observed.

"Yep," Dan panted out.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure. I actually feel really good about myself right now. I thought he was gonna kill me."

"Thank God he didn't. This is yours." Batman threw Dan his staff. Dan caught it despite his exhaustion. Batman looked at Man Bat with narrowed eyes.

"He should turn back soon," said Dan. "He said he needs three for it to be permanent, but he's only had two. Should be easy enough to give him to the cops in a few minutes or so."

"Then I guess we wait," said Batman.

There were a few moments of awkward silence.

"I'm proud of you," said Batman. "In the end, you managed to take him down on your own."

"I still need work," said Dan, waving it off. "I'm way too tired after such a short fight. I've never employed my air attacks in physical combat before today, so I need to do some work on that. Apparently it makes for one hell of a punch."

"We can think about that later."

They waited until Langstrom was human again, then left the sewers with him. They left Langstrom for Yin and Bennett to find, Batman knowing that Yin was using a helicopter to track Man Bat's movements, so they shouldn't take long to make the arrest.

Dan couldn't help but be happy that he'd beaten his first supervillain.

"Holy crap, I'm on the news!"

Later on that day, the news was covering the whole Man Bat incident. Any footage of Man Bat was amateur stuff taken by people who just happened to see him as he was moving past. It was later on in the report that went into just how Man Bat had been brought down, and it was then that Dan's superhero existence was revealed to all of Gotham. The footage was pretty bad for the most part, like something out of a found footage film, but when paused and focused, Dan could very clearly be seen riding on Man Bat's back, and somebody even got footage of him punching the monstrosity out of the sky.

"There's no doubt that everyone is relieved that this monster was brought down before it could do too much damage," said the reporter who was interviewing Yin and Bennett for the piece. "But I think what everyone wants to know is: who is the hooded individual seen fighting the creature in the footage?"

"We have no knowledge of his identity at this time," said Yin. "However, the evidence indicates that he's working with The Batman."

"And the kid's, like, super young," said Bennett. "He couldn't have been more than fourteen, fifteen, at most."

"But his age doesn't change anything in the eyes of the law," Yin added. "As an accomplice of The Batman, we plan on bringing him in just like we do with anyone who takes the law into their own hands."

"Well, you heard it here first, folks," said the reporter, turning to face the camera. "The Batman has some kind of young sidekick or protegé who took Kirk Langstrom, aka Man Bat, head on, and apparently won. But what does this mean for the people of Gotham? Is he a young hero trying to protect us? Or is he a delinquent taking his need for violence to a higher level? Only time will tell."

"Do I really come across as a delinquent?" Dan asked. "I thought I was pretty cool, badass, and all that. Do I look like I could be a criminal?"

"Try not to dwell on it too much, Dan," said Bruce. "The media aren't exactly flattering to me, either."

"I suppose they aren't."

Despite the fact that the news seemed to think he was some kind of hood-wearing yobbo, Dan couldn't keep the smile off his face. He had taken a big step toward becoming a well-known hero. For better or worse, there was no turning back from here.

How did it go? Sorry for the long wait; I won't lie and say it's not going to happen again, but I'm going to try and update this more frequently than I have been, if only to get onto at least season two. You actually have Theboblinator to thank for this, as him uploading his own story for The Batman was a big part of getting me back into the mood for writing this.

Now, to answer a few reviews.

DarkLord98: It's good to be working on this again. Thank you, I had hoped people would find it interesting. Thank you for pointing those out to me. Thank you for the name suggestion, too.

josephguy271: Thank you, and I shall certainly try.

Mr Beaver Buttington: Headwind, huh? Not bad. I'll add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion.

Squadpunk 2.0: Yeah, I know, updates are few and far between. This particular chapter deals with Man Bat.

Terra-Vail: Thank you, I do my best, and I'm glad to know you don't mind long waits; the chapters will keep on coming, I assure you. Thank you, I had hoped the memory loss situation would work well for this.

Guest: Here's a chapter for you!

littleditto: You know, I hadn't even considered him … well, I guess it works in Dan's favour, then. True enough, but by the time the Teen Titans plot comes into play, Dan and Robin will have been working together for a while, too, so they'll be used to each other. Plus, there are certain … events that will have happened by then to make them both want to leave Gotham and strike out on their own. I will say no more for spoiler reasons.

Guest: It's all good.

Akito Asmodeus: Um … where do you get that idea from (*winks*)? As you can see, you were completely right. Thank you very much. I actually watched this version before I watched Batman: The Animated Series, so I'm more familiar with this version. It's why the challenge appealed to me as much as it did.

Guest: Thanks, I like to think I've improved, too.

ShadowEonEclipseChaos (chapter 2 review): I hope I don't disappoint. I shall certainly try.

ShadowEonEclipseChaos (chapter 3 review): Let's see if I can hold it, then. I will try.

josephguy271 (again): I'm definitely continuing.

Guest: I have been considering using some other DC sources as inspiration, so the Arkham games aren't an impossibility.

Guest: Thanks for the idea.

Naruto x hinita: Not really. Most powers, even basic ones, can actually be used in very effective ways with enough practice.

See you guys next time!