Disclaimer: I don't own Sakutia. What or who's that you ask? You'll just have to wait and see. All I'll say is DC owns the rights. Now onto the fic!

-The Opening Acts -

"Do you want to be wildly entertained? People to know your name? Do you crave fame?

Well they say things aren't always what they seem to be. Even your greatest fantasies.

You won't believe your eyes, won't even recognize. The wonderment that lies behind the shimmer of the lights…" –Enter the Circus, Christina Aguilera

-Batman's POV-

Batman alighted down to the roof of the circus warehouse with barely a sound. The air duct to his left would be his mode of entry.

He had a very uneasy feeling about this place. Something about the whole situation seemed off, but he couldn't pinpoint what.

As his communicator crackled to life, he put those thoughts aside. It was too late to do anything about it now. Whatever it was, they'd face it when the time came.

"Robin to Batman, we are a go."

"This is Raven, we're in position."

"Ready and waiting, Batman!" exclaimed Booster with great pride. Cy's pain filled groan could faintly be heard over the system.

"Nightwing here, all set on our end. Let's do it."

Batman closed his eyes and took a calming breath. He resigned himself to the fact that though the danger level was high, they couldn't let this continue any longer. And no matter the risks, they were stopping these people.

Once and for all.

Then Batman spoke, "Remember, the kids are top priority. Get them out of the warehouse as fast as you can. I'll try to find Milo and the Ringmaster and keep them busy. The rest of you, keep a sharp eye out, anything could happen in there."

"Got it!"

"Right on!"

"Sure thing."

Batman felt his back straighten with resolve,… it was time.

"All right, everyone move out!"

He reached down and ripped the system fan off the air duct.

Batman stared down at the hole for a moment and then crawled in.

-Somewhere in the warehouse-

A man twirled his mustache as he placed a top hat on his head.

"Milo," he said to his lackey sniveling behind him, "It seems that our guests have arrived. Let's….give them a welcome, they'll never forget…"

"Of course…Ringmaster."

Milo ran from the room as the Ringmaster's evil laugh echoed down the hall.

-Raven's POV-

Raven flicked her wrists as her dark power came to life. She glared at the door and yelled, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

The door was ripped from its hinges. Raven then encased the security cameras in her dark field and blew them to bits.

"Nice job Raven," said Beast Boy as he jumped into the hall, making a few quick karate moves.

Raven rolled her eyes.

"Come on," she said as they made their way down the hall.

They checked several rooms to no avail. No alarms went off, no guards came to confront them. Something was very wrong here.

"Raven?" asked Beast Boy as they made their way down another hall.

"What?"

"I don't like this."

Raven looked questioningly at Beast Boy. He seemed…subdued. Probably because he was thinking the same thing she was,… that they were walking into a trap.

"I know, we should have run into someone by now."

They hunkered down at the end of another hall that led to a stairway. Raven ignited her powers and took out another set of cameras.

"Raven…what do you think he used on the kids to alter their DNA?"

"Don't know, Batman said it was a mutagen of some kind."

"Oh…." was his saddened reply.

Raven looked at Beast Boy surprised at how his normally enthusiastic behavior had become so dampened.

"..What's gotten into you?"

Beast Boy blushed in embarrassment and looked away.

"Well I…..I just know what it's like is all. You know….having your DNA being altered…and it being permanent and all…"

This revelation startled Raven as she whipped around and looked at Beast Boy in horror.

"Are… are you saying someone tested on you and that's how you got your powers?" asked Raven, having never heard Beast Boy mention the origin of his abilities before.

"What?! No….well…kinda but not really…"

Raven narrowed her eyes Beast Boy. She could feel the waves of a lingering hurt radiate off of him.

"For someone so open, he sure does hide a lot of pain. I guess we all have our own ways to deal."

"Explain," said Raven as they made their way down the stairs.

Beast Boy sighed, "Yeah…well see…I kinda contracted this rare virus called, Sakutia. Normally it kills you after forty eight hours after attacking your DNA structure, turning a person green. But…my parents who were both doctors created a serum and it saved me. But…I'm still…not-"

"You're still not human anymore," finished Raven for him. It seemed that her young friend was taking this case more personally then she had previously thought.

"Yeah…so…do you think, they'll be able to help the kids?"

"Before they end up the same way you mean."

Raven, always the realist, was about to tell Beast Boy, that she wasn't sure. They could be stuck in their animal forms forever.

But as she turned tell him this, she heard a small voice call out.

"Is…is some one there?"

The Titans looked at each other and rushed down the hall. They came to a stop at a barred room.

A little girl, with mouse ears and a tail gripped the bars in fear.

"Who? Who are you?" squeaked out the child.

She seemed unable to focus as her glazed eyes seemed to look right through them.

Raven could feel the rage radiating off of Beast Boy. It was like a dense force reaching out to rip away the bars.

He stepped forward and knelt down in front of the little girl.

"Hi there. We're here to rescue you."

For a moment, a light seemed to return to the young child's eyes. Then as suddenly as it came, it faded away.

Beast Boy looked forlornly back at Raven, his eyes clearly pleading with her to help in some way.

She sighed and knelt down next to him.

"What's you name?"

"Um…Sarah…I think…"

Raven was definitely going to kick the person responsible for this into next week.

"Well Sarah, why don't you stand back, while we break you and your friends out of there."

"Okay" was her emotionless reply as she moved away from the door.

Raven was about to use her powers when Beast Boy stopped her with his hand.

"No, allow me."

Beast Boy turned into a bear and ripped the bars off the wall.

The two heroes stepped inside and gasped.

Several children appeared to be passed out and others very frightened. Some seemed to have been spliced, while others looked to have been spared, ….so far.

Beast Boy shook himself out of the trance. "Raven I'll get the kids together. You call Wally and tell him what we've got."

At the mention of Wally, Raven felt her face get a bit red. Why did she get like this whenever she thought about the young scientist? I mean, given he was easy on the eyes, but acting like a crushing teenager was Starfire's department, not her's….

But then again, you can't block out your emotions forever, especially when you feel them more intensely then others. Being an empath, not only heightens your ability to read other people emotions, but also increases the power of your own. That was why she had to work so hard to keep them under control. This new feeling just sneaked up on her.

She let out a quick cough and touched her communicator.

"Raven to Wally. We found some of the kids. We're going to take them outside, over."

"Really? Already? ….didn't you guys run into any trouble?"

"No…. We didn't…… I don't like it either." Raven traveled off in thought as she glanced at the genetically altered children gathering around Beast Boy.

"Raven? Raven, you still there?" called Wally over the communicator.

"Why didn't they just break out?" Raven asked aloud.

"Come again?"

"Beast Boy turned into a bear and ripped down the bars in one swipe……aren't their powers similar to his. Couldn't they have escaped by themselves?"

Beast Boy touched his communicator to talk to Wally too.

"I get what Raven's saying, but some of these kids look pretty drugged up man. Maybe they just didn't have the strength."

"Maybe…it is a bit odd though… Well anyway get the kids to the alleyway in back of the building. I'll update Batman. Keep an eye out for anything else out of the ordinary. I'll check back with you two later. Wally-out."

Beast Boy then turned into a large snake as several of the kids climbed on his back.

Raven turned to the rest of the kids and used her powers to lift them up off the ground.

The two heroes gave each one another a nod and went back out the way they came.

-Cyborg's POV-

It was just his luck. Pure and simple. In the Titans, he was always stuck with BB. Now that he's fighting with Batman, who does he get stuck with?

Booster shot down another camera with a full powered energy blast.

"Another excellent shot, Sir!" said Skeets as he zipped along the corridor.

"Hey, Booster, try to keep it down. Remember what Batman said, 'Get the kids and get out.'"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know," answered Booster with a dismissive wave.

Cyborg rubbed his temple as he sighed, "Hey, Skeets. Could you scan the immediate area for heat signatures?"

"Can do-"

"Delay that order, Skeets. Listen, …Cyborg right? Skeets takes orders from one person and one person only, me. Skeets scan for heat signatures."

"Um…right away, Sir."

Cyborg felt his eye begin to twitch. He could have scanned it himself, but noooo he had to go and be friendly and try to involve the two future rejects in the mission.

"There is an energy signature down the hall and to the right."

"Good job, Skeets! Now let's break those kids out of there, wait for the news crews to come, and then BAM! We'll be famous!" exclaimed Boost as he ran down the hall.

"Uh….guys…." said Cy as he finished conducing his own scan of the area.

He looked up and saw that they were gone already.

"Shit! I have to stop them before it's too late!"

"Guys!" yelled Cyborg as he ran down the hall.

He turned right at the corner, just in time to see Booster use his yellow energy blasts to take down the heavy steel doors at the end of the hall.

Booster turned around to speak to Cyborg, his back to the smoking hole that he had just made.

"Never fear, young hero! I Booster-"

"S-s-sir…Sir, there's som-" said Skeets still facing the doorway.

"Not now Skeets, I'm on a roll," said Booster as he coughed into his hand.

Unbeknownst to him, a large looming shadow was slowly forming in the smoking doorway behind him.

"For I, Booster Gold have taken care of –"

A loud growling noise could be heard coming from above his head.

"I said not now Skeets."

"Tha…thhhat wasn't m-m-me, S-s-sir!"

"Then who-" said Booster as he turned around see the large grotesque face of a genetically altered, fifty foot, foaming mad warthog.

"Oooooo…snap."

The monster roared right in his face sending gobs of foam and phlegm flying everywhere, covering the wanna-be hero from head to toe in goo.

Booster stood there in shock. Then he blinked and screamed at the top of his lungs and cowered on the floor.

Cy saw his chance, and sent an energy blast at the hog's face.

The beast roared in pain and scratched at the offending injury.

Booster grabbed Skeets in his arms and ran toward Cy and the two hightailed it out of there with the recovering warthog right on their heals.

"Skeets, why didn't you tell me the signature was fifty feet tall?!"

"You didn't ask!!"

"I don't care whose fault it was!" yelled Cyborg, "Both of you just shut up and run!"

They heard the beast roar again and doubled their efforts to escape down the hall.

-Nightwing's POV-

"Nightwing to Wally. Batgirl and I found a group of kids being held in a cell on the second floor," said the masked hero into his communicator.

As Nightwing spoke to Wally, Batgirl had already taken a pick out of her utility belt and started on the lock.

"Cage is more like it," muttered Batgirl from the floor.

Nightwing smiled at her indignation on the kids' behalves. He knew there was a reason why he loved her.

"Good," answered Wally with a sigh of relief, "Raven and Beast Boy have already found another group as well. Has anything strange happened so far?"

"Strange?" question Nightwing as he looked down at Batgirl.

"Not that we've seen…in fact…we've encountered no opposition whatsoever…"

To this, Batgirl brought her head up and sent Nightwing a concerned frown.

"Yeah, that's what Raven told me too. Somethin-"

"Shhh…" said Nightwing as he caught something move out of the corner of his eye.

His eyes narrowed at the corner where the hall met the room's doorway.

"What's wrong?" questioned Wally with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I think I just saw something take off down the hall. Hold on a sec, I'm going to check it out."

Nightwing took a birdarang out of his belt and gave Batgirl a quick nod.

She nodded in reply and went back to picking the lock while Dick took care of the threat.

Nightwing carefully made his way down the empty hall, birdarang in hand.

He reached the end of the hall and came up beside the corner he saw the shadow disappear around. He quickly moved over to the wall, and pressed his back up against it.

The sound of his carefully monitored breathing was the only thing he heard. He closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could.

After several minutes, the shuffled sounds of footsteps could be heard retreating down the corridor.

Nightwing glanced around the corner just in time to catch a glimpse of a leg, as a person raced around the corner at the other end of the hall.

"No way," whispered Nightwing as he made his way after person he had just seen.

"No way, what?" question the speedster over the line.

Nightwing shushed him as he sped around the next corner.

Then the lights in the hall suddenly went out.

He froze, standing perfectly still, trying not to make a sound.

Nightwing was about to turn on his night vision mask, when he felt a presence next to him. He let the birdarang fly in its direction……and it hit nothing.

His breathing steadied as his pulse rate began to return to normal. He thought his heart was going to leap out of his chest there for a minute.

With a shake of his head he reached up and turned on his night vision,…just in time to catch a glimpse of a shovel impacting his face.

The blow sounded with massive crack, as he felt to the floor screaming in pain.

"Nightwing!" called Wally over the communicator, "Nightwing can you hear me?!"

The masked hero tried to stand up, but the pain in his head denied him from doing so.

"Nightwing?" yelled a familiar voice from down the hall.

"No! Babs it's a trap!"

"Leave me! It's a-"

Nightwing could hear her fighting down the hall as Batgirl apparently rammed someone's head into a wall. Then he heard her sharp intake of a breath and a scream.

"BATGIRrrL!" called Dick, as his words began to slur from his head trauma.

Then the lights in the hall suddenly came back on.

Nightwing's eyes widened in horror as he saw Batgirl's unconscious body lying prone on the floor.

A sharp gasp escaped from his lips as he felt a presence standing over his hunched form.

He looked up into the face of his attacker with unbridled rage.

"YO-" was the only sound he could make before the person struck his head again with the shovel. The blow rendered him speechless as he gasped and sputtered on the floor, trying to hang onto consciousness.

The attacker picked up his head and gently whispered in his ear, "Sorry Big Bird, but we've got some plans for yous two."

Nightwing felt his communicator being removed from his ear.

The last thing he remembered was the sound of his communicator being smashed to pieces by the shovel……and then he knew no more.

-Robin's POV-

Robin and Starfire walked through an automatic sliding door into what appeared to be a lab.

Star gasped at the sight of the sterile environment. Various lab tables were set up with beakers and crucibles filled with bubbling and burning chemicals. Long plastic tubes deposited the siphoned liquids into a series of test tubes, all lined up in a row.

An examining table sat in the middle of the room. Arm and leg straps hung loosely from its sides, waiting to be used.

Starfire's eyes began to fill with tears.

"How could anyone do such things? To such poor and innocent beings?" she whispered in a voice cracking with emotion.

Her compassionate was clearly mirrored in Robin's eyes. He reached out his hand to hers and gave it a small squeeze.

Surprised at such a gentle gesture from Robin, she turned her head up to look at his face.

He gave her a small smile and let go of her hand.

"That's what we're here for. To stop them," said Robin softly.

"Right," answered Star with a nod of her head as she wiped away her tears.

As Star recollected herself, Robin's eyes scanned the room. Nothing caught his interest, until he laid eyes on best thing he could have found, a computer.

He turned back to Starfire and said, "Keep watch at the door. I'll make a copy of the hard drive. With any luck, it'll have enough evidence in it to keep whoever's responsible in jail for a long time."

"Of course."

Starfire then walked over to the side of the sliding door and stood in a fighting stance, ready to pounce.

Robin fought down the blush that was trying to creep onto his face.

"Man, I hate it when she looks at me like that. I always feel so…weird…It's not like I like her or anything, right? I mean…she's just my friend right?"

Robin tossed those emotional thoughts out of his mind and sat down at the computer.

From his utility belt, he pulled out a disk with a database hacking program on it. He placed the CD into the drive and clicked on the icon that appeared. The program would take fifteen minutes to copy all the server's files onto the disk.

So for now, all they had to do was wait.

"Well, well, well….what tasty little tidbits do we have here?" growled a voice from the back of the lab.

Star and Robin whipped their heads around to see a very unwelcome sight.

One of the bookcases had been pushed aside to reveal a hidden door.

Two beings stood in the doorway. The one on the right was part tiger and part man. The other was a woman who had apparently been fused with an octopus. Large dark colored tenticales had replaced her legs and her hair seemed to move with a medusa like quality. Both creatures smiled at them with sinister intent.

Starfire's eyes glowed green as she charged up her hands.

Robin stood up from the computer, gripping the chair's back with his left hand.

The tiger-man ran at him with a roar.

In one swift motion, Robin lifted the chair above his head while dodging the attack.

The beast-man stopped just before he rammed into the computer.

He turned just in time to see his prey slam the chair down across his spine.

The monster roared in pain and ripped the chair away from Robin.

It flew right toward Starfire, but she ducked in time as it became imbedded in the wall right above her head.

"Remember what the bosses said," called the octo-woman to her partner, "They want the boy alive."

"I KNOW!" roared the man as he set his sights on Robin.

The teen's face became grim as he extended his silver pole.

"This is not going to be easy."

-Batman's POV-

He had been searching the top floor of the warehouse for nearly an hour. There wasn't a soul to be seen. This unsettled him greatly. Normally he would have come across at least three armed guards by now. But the eerie silence continued to hover stagnant in the halls.

This could mean only one thing.

Someone was waiting for them.

"Psss!" called out a hushed voice from over head.

Batman looked up and saw Danny dangling above him from the ceiling.

He pointed toward a room at the other end of the hall.

Batman took out a batarang and made his way toward the door.

As he gripped the handle, Danny suddenly dropped down right in front of him, franticly waving he arms.

"No!" he whispered in a harsh tone, "It's just Elena and Matt in there."

Batman narrowed his eyes at the boy and gave him a small glare. All of this didn't sit well with him.

"How in the heck did they know where I was? And for that matter, how'd they get way from Milo, again?"

Batman folded the batarang into his hand…but he didn't put it away.

He opened the door and walked in.

And low and behold, it was just as Danny had said. Elena was leaning against the wall and Matt sat next to her on top of an empty crate.

Both visually perked up when Batman entered the room.

"Batman! Good, Danny found you," said Matt excitedly, "We know where Dr. Milo is. We overheard him talking to one of his lackeys. He said he was going to give some kids a 'training' exercise in the circus hall."

Batman frowned. He certainly didn't like the sound of that.

"Wait a second…"

"How did you kids get out again, without Milo's knowledge?"

Elena smiled at him slyly.

"Danny took caresss of the camerasss withhh webbingsss," she hissed, "And I…"

The snake-girl flicked her fingers as all five of the nails on her fingers became pointed spikes. "picked the locksss."

She then whipped her hand towards the wall, and the spikes flew off her hand and embedded themselves deep inside.

Danny had come up behind Batman and whispered, "We think she got some stingray DNA mixed in there as well. Her spiked barbs temporally paralyze creatures."

"Well… that's good to know."

Suddenly Batman's communicator sparked to life.

"Bats, you there?" asked Wally over the speaker.

Batman reached up to his headset.

"Go ahead, …Did anyone find any of the kids yet?"

"Well…yeah, kinda, but we've got bigger problems then that. I've lost contact with Nightwing and Batgirl. I think someone ambushed them."

Batman felt his left hand clench into a fist at his side as he began to grind his teeth.

"Right. I'll take care of it. As you can see, I've met up with Matt, Danny, and Elena. They're going to take me to Milo. Hopefully, I'll find Nightwing and Batgirl there too."

"Okay, but keep your com-link open so I can hear what's going on."

"Right," answered Batman as he turned the small dial in his cowl up a bit.

"There, how's that?"

"Crystal. Now get going."

Batman turned toward the kids and said, "Take me there, NOW."

After several minutes of running down various corridors and halls, Batman and the trio came upon a large room that held three rings, like that of a circus arena. Empty cages littered the floor as several low lit lights shown down from the high rafters of the room's ceiling.

As the four entered the room, a heavy steel door slid close behind them, making the children jump.

Batman hid his arms under his cape as he took two batarangs from his belt.

An old sound system suddenly crackled to life, as warped circus music began to play, weaving its unsettling melody throughout the stage.

The kids became terrified and began to huddle closer together.

Batman stepped in front of the three, hoping to shield them from whatever was coming.

The tension continued to build, when suddenly,

ZAPPP!

The nervous children nearly jumped out of their skins at the noise. A giant spotlight had suddenly come to life above their heads.

They all turned toward the direction of where the noise had come from.

….And there, on a pedestal… next to the large throw switch… stood a man, with short dark hair and eyes. He had a long hooked nose and deep circles under his eyes. He wore a pristine white lab coat and brandished a large electrical cattle prod in his hand. It came to life with a streaming surge of electrical energy between its duel prongs, jumping and crackling like a Jacob's ladder.

"Welcome to our Freak Show, Batman," he said in a cool and collected voice, "I've been expecting you…"

Batman smirked at the madman that stood above him.

"Dr. Milo, I presume?"

The hollow laugh of the insane scientist echoed through the room.

He took a gasping breath and replied, "The very same."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Hehehe!

Author's Notes: Okay. I think my brain died while writing that. Boy was that ever complex! And the next part's even worse! Anyway, I hope everyone liked it. Good and long eh?

Remember, reviews inspire me to write more…and they make me very happy!

So as always, please read and review! Write you all again next time. Bye!