Nightwing: Arkham Knight
DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO DC COMICS. BATMAN - ARKHAMVERSE BELONGS TO DC ENTERTAINMENT, WB ENTERTAINMENT AND ROCKSTEADY GAMES. BATMAN BELONGS TO DC COMICS, BOB KANE AND BILL FINGER. NIGHTWING AND STARFIRE BELONG TO DC COMICS, MARV WOLFMAN AND GEORGE PEREZ.
Chapter 10: The Trail of a Monster!
Speeding down the roads of Bleake Island, Nightwing and Starfire had one thought on their mind: what happened to Dr. Langstrom? They had to know in what way was he linked to the bat creature now terrorizing Gotham. They drove past the clock tower that Oracle used as her base of operations while helping the Batman Family, the Justice League and the Birds of Prey, a team of heroines that usually consisted of Dinah Lance, AKA Black Canary and Helena Bertinelli, AKA Huntress.
When Dick was still Robin, Dinah sometimes trained him when Batman was on missions with the Justice League, and that was how he met and befriended Green Arrow and his protege, Roy Harper. Huntress on the other hand was different. Helena was asked to be the second Batgirl after Barbara was paralyzed by the Joker. Needless to say, she soon decided to forge her own hero identity. She also had issues, when she was 8 years old, her parents were killed in front of her eyes by order of the Italian mafia, and now she wanted revenge. While her methods included using a pistol crossbow, she was effectively a superhero, as she denounced her family's crime legacy and decided to fight the Mafia. She helped Nightwing out a few times with hunting down the mafia in Blüdhaven, and admittedly even had a few one night stand ins with him, though she did so only to learn some of the Batman Family's secrets. Despite this act of espionage, she and Dick were still close friends, and sometimes helped each other out. Though he figured since now that he was back with Kori, she would be pretty envious.
"I have forgotten how beautiful it is when it is snowing," said Starfire, as she looked around at the city.
"Yeah, sure brings back memories," Nightwing replied with a chuckle. He remembered having so much fun as a kid growing up at Wayne Manor in the winter. When he wasn't on duty as Robin or training in the Batcave, he would have fun like any other kid did in the snow. Once, the Titans even took a vacation to Hokkaido for the Sapporo Yuki-matsuri one February, a gift from their Russian teammate Leonid Kovar, AKA Red Star, for helping him stop the master thief, André LeBlanc, from stealing the Swedish Crown Jewels.
Before long, they found themselves at their destination, marked by a TV screen that asked if Batman was really good for Gotham. Dick glanced at the promo and just shook his head. The fact that there were still anti-Batman groups in Gotham disappointed him, since he did so much good for the city.
"Robin? Are you alright?" Starfire asked, concerned about her boyfriend. She knew what it was like to be feared by other people, as there were some xenophobic groups who were against alien superheroes like herself and Superman. Though she was not as much a target, since Tamaran wasn't as well known on Earth.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit annoyed by that is all," he replied, indicating the Jumbotron. "Anyway, we should probably get going." Kori smiled with a nod and the two got out of the cockpit side by side. The coordinates Alfred gave them led past a chain link fence to a set of double doors. Nightwing opened one of them and held it for Starfire. She loved that her boyfriend was so much of a gentleman, something Alfred made sure he would be as a young man. The dimly lit room only led to an elevator and nothing else. Only pipes for the plumbing and a few empty boxes.
"I had forgotten how much I do not like basements..." Starfire whimpered as she hugged Nightwing. Ever since her teenage years, she was easily scared. Whenever the Titans watched horror movies at Raven's request, she always held onto Dick and closed her eyes whenever the monster was about to attack. The first time they all watched one together, she got so frightened to the point where she had nightmares, and both Robin and Wonder Girl had to comfort her. Though she got better about it after they faced Trigon twice.
"It's okay babe, there's nothing to be scared about," said Nightwing as he held her tightly and led her inside the elevator. After pushing the button, and the doors closed, they slowly began to descend. The lights that guided the elevator featured red bulbs for emergency lighting. When they finally reached the basement, they knew where to go. "The lab must be up ahead," said Dick as his detective vision picked up traces of bat DNA. "Star, can you give us some light?"
Starfire nodded and powered up a starbolt to act as a flashlight. As they made their way downt the hallway, they were growing more concerned about if this bat creature and Langstrom were linked with Scarecrow. If Langstrom was, like Simon Stagg, cooperating with Crane for monetary benefit. As they opened the door to the lab, they were shocked at what they saw.
The entire room was completely ruined, damaged beyond repair. Loose wires and flipped tables were pushed aside along with broken beakers and test tubes. There was even a hole in the wall that led outside, a clue as to the Bat creature's escape.
"What has happened here?" Starfire asked, shocked by the sight before them. Then she noticed the body of a woman nearby. Nightwing saw the body as well and they made their way towards her. It was Francine Langstrom, Dr. Langstrom's wife. "She is alive?" Starfire asked as she and Dick checked her for a pulse. Despite their hopes, they weren't able to find one. Yet then they saw her move as she gasped for air.
"KIRK!!" Francine screamed as she regained consciousness. She looked around, bewildered as she caught her breath.
"She's alive," said Nightwing, relieved that they now didn't have another casualty in their hands.
"Thank X'hal!" Starfire proclaimed, equally relieved. Francine though looked up at the two heroes next to her. Before she could ask who they were though, she clutched her head in pain.
"Ow...my ears. Why is it so loud?" She asked. Before long, a sharp pain ran through her entire body and she keeled onto her side. Suddenly both Nightwing and Starfire saw her clothes rip as her entire body was covered in grayish silvery fur, save for her long brown hair. Her ears became pointed and long, her nails curled into claws, her teeth filed into fangs as she screamed and cried in pain, equally horrified by what was happening to her. Then two leathery wings extended from her arms, stopping just at her hands. Finally, her nose and skull extended forward, until it formed a doglike snout. "Stay back!! I could hurt you!" She told Nightwing and Starfire as the transformation finalized itself.
"What on Earth!?" Nightwing asked in shock. He hadn't seen anything like this during his tenure as a hero. Starfire only watched in horror at Francine's transformation into another bat creature. The two realized that this was probably not what Dr. Langstrom was hoping for. When the transformation was complete, Francine woke from her state of delirium, realizing that she still had her intelligence and humanity. She looked at her own reflection in a nearby piece of broken glass, saddened by what she underwent. She was alive, but a monster.
"Kirk...what've we done?" She asked herself. She then turned to Nightwing and Starfire, as she got up, folding her wings to her arms. In this form, she was 7 feet tall, and thus towered over the two Titans.
"Mrs. Langstrom, we're trying to find your husband," said Nightwing, hoping to calmly explain the situation.
"Please, tell us all that happened," Starfire added on, having gotten over her initial fear. Francine realized that she could help them with the dilemma her family was going through. She nodded and told them what happened. It turned out that she and her husband tried to mix human DNA with that of vampire bats in order to prevent and cure deafness. Recently they made a successful breakthrough, but then Kirk decided to test it on himself first to treat his chronic hearing loss. However the experiment not only restored his hearing, but it turned him into a monster, something she witnessed with her own eyes.
"Then it seems Dr. Langstrom is the bat creature we've been trying to track," Nightwing muttered. He knew someone who tried a similar experiment with monstrous results, Grace Balin, AKA Orca. She was a marine biologist who was paralyzed during an accident. To help regain her mobility, she experimented with spinal cord tissue regeneration by mixing her DNA with that of an orca whale. She regained the use of her legs, but was also transformed into a human orca hybrid. From there she developed a Robin Hood complex, stealing from the rich to give to the poor, then became an environmental saboteur. After Batman stopped her multiple times, she fled to Blüdhaven and joined a rehab group of former super villains, the very team of new heroes that Nightwing now worked alongside.
"Please, help me find my husband," Francine begged, "He's not in control of his actions...I'm worried he could hurt someone." Starfire placed her hand on Francine's shoulder to reassure her.
"For confiding in us, we are most humbled," she said, "We will help you in the search for your husband." Nightwing only nodded as he stood next to his girlfriend. This made Francine feel incredibly hopeful, that they didn't see her as a freak, and were actually going to help her get back the man she loved.
"Thank you...both of you!" She said as she felt tears welling up in her eyes.
"I promise we won't let you down," Nightwing told her as he looked around for something to help them, taking out the blood sample from his utility belt. "There's gotta be something that holds all Kirk's research. If we find that we'll be able to create an antidote."
"The computer wasn't damaged in Kirk's rampage," said Francine, "It's got all our research notes on there." The two Titans made their way to the computer, marked by the screensaver with photos of Kirk and Francine on vacation. Nightwing looked through all the files Kirk used in his experiments.
"I believe that combining his DNA with that of the bat of vampires was destined to end in sadness," said Starfire as she and Nightwing looked at the data on the screen.
"Uh...well, I don't think we used vampire bats all the time," said Francine, "I think the batch that transformed me was mostly fruit bat DNA, since I can still see clearly." Starfire then noticed Nightwing's fixation on the formula notes.
"Robin, has your exploration of the formula explained Dr. Langstrom's troubling situation?" Starfire asked, since she knew that sense of focus her boyfriend displayed whenever he was onto something.
"Yeah. I'm definitely onto something," he said as he uploaded the blood sample to a machine nearby. The screen then uploaded two DNA chains, one being Kirk's, the other being the mutated sample. "If we can isolate and remove the mutated signature from Kirk's DNA, then we'll have a clean strain to work with." Nightwing and Starfire got work on creating an antidote. Since Tamaraneans were also scientists as well as warriors, this was also somewhat her area of expertise. Though she wasn't as well suited as Beast Boy, she was doing her best to help. Before long, they were able to successfully complete the experiment.
"It is done. We have created an antidote for Dr. Langstrom's affliction," said Starfire, satisfied with the work they accomplished.
"Now all we need to do is find him," said Nightwing as he prepped the antidote into an advanced type of syringe, that looked similar to the explosive gel dispenser. "Mrs. Langstrom, can you use echolocation to find Kirk?"
"I don't think I can," she replied, "But I'll still be able to see him in the dark. Fruit bats can be active both during the day and night." This at least was some form of reassurance.
"That'll help us out, but we may need more help finding him since he could be anywhere," said Nightwing as he patched into his comm. links, "Nightwing to Orca, you there? I could use your help."
"Nightwing? What's up?" A female voice replied.
"We're tracking a giant bat creature flying around Gotham, it was once Dr. Kirk Langstrom. Think you could come and help us track him down?" He asked. Since toothed whales and bats both used sonar, he knew Orca could be helpful in this situation.
"Oh sure! I'll be there as soon as I can," she replied.
"Thanks. Meet us at the clocktower on Bleake Island when you get there. Nightwing out," he told her, then ended the comm. link before connecting to his channel he used with the other Titans. "Beast Boy, you got some free time? We're trying to locate a giant bat creature in Gotham, and could use your help." Hearing those words, Starfire was so excited. She and Beast Boy were like siblings, so she knew he'd be happy to see her too.
"Dude, you know I've got this one!" Beast Boy exclaimed, "I'll fly on it ASAP."
"Thanks, meet us at the roof of the clocktower on Bleake Island. Nightwing out," Dick replied and hung up. Nightwing couldn't help but chuckle, "Guess we could just call in the others if things get out of hand." Since they already had Flash's help and now Beast Boy, it made sense that should something really major come up, the rest of the Titans be called on to help out.
"Oh, I cannot wait to see Beast Boy again!" Starfire exclaimed giddily as she hugged Nightwing.
"Okay, let's get over to the clock tower," he said as he hugged her back. Both Kori and Francine nodded in agreement. Starfire only held onto Nightwing tightly and flew out of the hole in the wall that led outside, followed by Francine. The She-Bat crawled out and then she spread her wings before taking off into the sky, as if she was a natural at this. Though she did have a brief moment where she nearly fell and recovered mid-flight.
"This could take some getting used to," she muttered, but as she flew she couldn't help but laugh happily at the joy of being airborne, a feeling Starfire and Nightwing understood all too well. They only smiled as they flew to the clock tower where they'd await the arrival of their friends before finally finding and helping cure Kirk Langstrom of the mutation that he suffered from.
A/N: Yes, we have the appearance of She-Bat! I was inspired by the episode of Batman: The Animated Series called Terror in the Sky for making She-Bat mostly a human-fruit bat hybrid. As for her retaining her intelligence and humanity, in the comics there were times that Man-Bat retained his own sanity and self that he fought for good, so I wanted to emulate that with Francine so she could help Nightwing and Starfire save her husband.
Now, I decided to have Orca come along because in the current Nightwing comics, she's part of a group of ex-supervillains called the Run-Offs that work with Nightwing to protect and save Blüdhaven, so she's one of his allies.
Let me know what you guys think about this chapter! Please leave a review, favorite and follow for more, and as always stay tuned for more chapters! :)