09:30 AM

Metropolis

Lex Luthor had received a message from his desert team that the creature had activated and was due to arrive any hour. He had immediately flown out, eager to meet his new, incredibly powerful and completely loyal monster. If it was successful, so too could be the next step in his plan. For the creature was immortal, and its physical shape was one of its own making. Because the boy was becoming feral inside, so too did he become so on the outside.

But Luthor had not anticipated the uncontrollable savagery of the beast. It had come meekly at first, but upon seeing him, a flash of recognition passed through it, and all hell broke loose. At the time, it had still been in the form of Robin. Luthor would never know exactly how it came to be that he infected Nightwing and it was Robin who came to him, nor did he at the moment care.

It was only the swift efficiency of his security people which had gotten him out quickly and slowed the beast down as it sought him out specially. It didn't bother him so much that eleven people were dead, or even how they came to have died. What bothered him was that he had somehow failed so miserably. The monster he had created was every bit as feral as the others, only this one not only retained its intelligence, but had also gained a passionate loathing for all that lived and breathed.

He was uncertain if this was caused by the creature's own hatred of him, or perhaps something to do with the special training Robin had received that allowed him to somehow resist, or maybe something else. He would not admit it, even to himself, that perhaps he was to blame for the failure of this experiment. Still, he would need to refine it further before attempting such a thing again.

10:30 AM

Gotham

It had taken just under an hour to make what had previously been a two hour flight. Returning through the sandstorm seemed to have taken most of the pep out of Kid Flash, and Nightwing seemed on the verge of being catatonic. Superboy decided it was time to call for more help.

While on the way to Gotham, he had called the Watchtower. Kaldur and Static had been the team members present and not otherwise occupied. Superboy was uneasy about anyone he did not know well, and so chose to request the aid of Kaldur. He was grateful and deeply relieved to turn the decision making over to someone else.

When he had finished bringing Kaldur up to date, all were startled to realize that Nightwing had disappeared. They looked for him only briefly, then began to search the city for signs of what had once been Robin, including Kid Flash who insisted on helping in spite of the fact that he was still coughing sand. Kaldur came to the same sad conclusion as Superboy.

They had no way of containing or reasoning with Robin, and he had already proven himself a killer. He had also proven to be a swift traveler, he was a threat not only to the city, but to the world. They barely paused to question why he had not gone on a rampage while on the way here. Nor did they ask why the first dead bodies weren't being discovered and reported.

If they had, perhaps they would have been able to find Robin sooner. And maybe they would have known also just where it was Nightwing had gone.

11:11 AM

The Batcave

The quiet scraping of powerful claws against stone floor disturbed the slumbering flock of bats that made the cave their home. The echo of the claws made them flutter uneasily, even as they squeaked their annoyance at being disturbed in the middle of their sleep cycle.

The beast knew the cave was empty and made no attempt to conceal its presence. The Bat would return, of course, and would have to be dealt with, but all in due time. The beast knew the habits of The Bat, knew he would have only recently left the Watchtower. Now he would be sleeping, in preparation for a party he would have to attend as Bruce Wayne. Only after nightfall would The Bat come to his cave in search of the prey he favored: criminals.

The beast had every intention of being gone before then. It would be little bother to kill The Bat in his own cave, but his disappearance would bring others in force. Those others the beast was not yet confident enough to face. He knew his own strength and speed and cunning, but he had not yet fully mastered his form and new thought patterns. He must be at his peak before taking on challengers so formidable as the Justice League.

There was also the other to consider. The other would be coming for him, hard and fast. This was why he did not immediately lie down and go to sleep. Though he wanted to, the beast knew the danger inherent in lowering his guard. The other must be dispatched.

A sound from above made the beast snap his head up, gazing at the ceiling with a mixture of confusion and rage. It took several seconds for it to click in his almost reptilian brain that there was a third whom he had failed to take into consideration. Not the she-bat, for she was far away, across the world. But the keeper of the house.

A low growl rose in the creature's throat as he fully realized that he was not alone. Perhaps the one above was not so dangerous as the other, but still must be dealt with swiftly and decisively. A transparent eyelid flashed across the glimmering amber-colored eyes. Steel-trap jaws parted to show jagged fangs, set in neat scissor formation in the black gums.

But then the one above headed for the door. The beast could have killed him before he made his way off the property, but decided it wasn't worth the trouble. He wouldn't be back until evening, the beast realized as it thought over his usual habits. It was the day he usually did his shopping, some of which was necessarily complicated and extended.

With a soft sigh, the beast turned itself around a few times, debating which direction was the best to face. Deciding the tunnel entrance would be the easiest to enter silently, he turned his back on the door to the house and lay down, keeping his feet underneath him in case he should need to rise suddenly.

The other would come. But not now, he sensed, not yet. The other was distracted, uneasy. The first clash would not be before nightfall.

12:35 PM

The streets of Gotham

Gotham was a big city and, ordinarily, Kaldur would have called for more help. There were a few members of the Justice League who weren't busy, and Batman could probably survive being disturbed. Besides, it was his own city, he could hunt through it faster and more efficiently than the others. Nightwing and Batgirl, no strangers to Gotham, would know where Robin was likely to go.

But something bade him keep silent. Perhaps it was just knowing that Nightwing had wanted the team to do this on their own. But more likely it was something deeper. He hadn't told the team, but he was deeply concerned by Nightwing's disappearance. It had been many years since Nightwing had disappeared without announcing it. Though it had once been his habit, Nightwing had long ago learned the value of his team and letting them know where he was.

It was no longer like him to just go off and not returning at all had never been his style.

06:30 PM

The Batcave

The beast awoke angry. And hungry. The sharp click of the front door being unlocked had woken it before it was rested. The heartbeat was strong, but showed wear from age. The butler had returned. His scent rippled through the air ahead of him, advertising his presence in the manor like a glowing neon sign. The creature rose to its feet and snorted.

Growling low to itself, the beast began to climb the stairs. Slowly, quietly, head cocked to listen for any unexpected noise. The Bat had been there earlier, but left before sunset and hadn't once come down to the cave.

Upright, but leaning forward, the creature eased up the stairs one at a time. There was no reason for patience or stealth. Not really. But though its humanity had abandoned it, its extensive training, long habit and instincts kept it from taking any chances.

A cautious hero lives to tell the tale and never dies a martyr. Not that it considered itself a hero any longer. It had practically forgotten the word already, and even thinking it seemed to burn the creature's mind like it had touched a hot frying pan.

Nudging the door open, the creature slipped into the main house, sharp eyes alert for any sudden movement in the dark, with night vision allowing it to see as clear as day. Even had this not been the case, the creature had not forgotten its past life completely. It had a veritable plethora of senses to choose from in addition to sight. Smell, hearing, touch, taste. It could smell the man, could hear his heart beating, could even feel him walking as the movements were transferred dimly through the floor via vibration. It could almost taste blood in the air.

Crouching low, the creature let out a soft hiss. Hearing it, the man froze in the living room. The scent of uncertainty filled the air, as the man wondered if he had indeed heard anything the sound had been so quiet. But this was exactly the sort of hesitation the creature had anticipated. Lunging, it smashed directly through the kitchen door, barreling headlong into the living room. Ten feet away, it leaped, bringing its razor sharp claws into play. Its aim was perfect, the first blow would kill.

But it never made the last three feet. The painful sound of glass breaking to pieces and scattering through the air was its only warning before dead weight slammed down on the back of the creature's skull. Had it been standing, it might have kept its balance. But all four limbs were off the ground and stretched forward, there was nothing to break its fall.

Somehow, unnoticed, the other had arrived. The beast twisted and snarled beneath the other, but found that it had fallen perfectly on a rug. It could get no purchase on the shifting, ripping material. It let out a roar of frustrated fury and blood craving.

"Run!," The word, spoken in a language the creature still recognized dimly, was spoken with a degree of ferocity that a human was simply incapable of.

That was why it had failed to recognize the other's presence. The creature had been expecting a human. But what now pinned it to the floor was what the creature had been earlier. A beast, with only the thinnest veneer of humanity remaining. The man did not fail to hear the savage note to the single word, and made great haste towards the door, speaking not one word of argument.

No!. The beast writhed in vain beneath its adversary. It knew that all was lost if the man survived. The man would contact The Bat, who would in his turn inform the Justice League. The creature wasn't ready for that.

A shrieking, otherworldly roar split the air, carrying for miles through the dark and striking terror into all who heard it, because all recognized the unknown within its trembling vibration. The creature was the very embodiment of fear, and yet for all that, it was something utterly unfamiliar to anything which belonged to this world.

Having put all its strength into the cry, the beast had not expected the other to relax his grip, even for a moment. To do so was suicidal, and the other was far too clever to make such a fatal mistake. And yet, for all that, the beast felt its claws manage to dig into the hardwood floor. It heaved upward, throwing its enemy off like a bull rider, then charging like a crocodile from the river, its body barely skimming above the floor and its mouth wide to catch whatever body part was most readily available.

But the other had not completely forgotten himself. He swiftly rolled across the room, smashing the one lamp that was turned on and plunging the room into utter darkness. The sun had set, the moon had yet to rise, and the one window in the living room was so heavily curtained that not a bit of light would have penetrated even had it been high noon.

"You cannot run from me!," the beast did not use human words, but spat a series of shrieking-growls, though it could have spoken just so if it had felt like it.

The other understood it, but did not reply. The air was suddenly full of smoke, masking scent, while the hissing grenades covered sound. As they rolled across the floor, they also hid vibrations. The other knew of the five senses, he had spent years mastering them all.

The creature knew better than to stay where it was. Though it had excellent night vision, absolute darkness was beyond even its visual range. It slithered up onto the couch, then oozed down the other side, its lithe body gliding through the dark like that of a serpent. It had all but forgotten the old man it had originally meant to kill. The other was infinitely more dangerous.

As it finished repositioning, the beast was struck by a flash of insight. The old man had no doubt contacted The Bat, who would likely arrive in mere minutes. It did not feel fear, not truly, but some perversion of it arose within the beast. The other it could destroy, The Bat it could dispatch. But both together was another matter entirely.

It was not ready for that much of a challenge.

"Chase me if you dare!," it called out to the darkness.

Then it leaped for the window. The last of the window broke apart on impact and the creature shot like a bullet through the night, never once looking back. There was no need. The other was following. And now had the power to keep pace with the beast. There would be no losing it this time, and it was just as well. This game of cat and mouse had lost its charm this morning. Now it had become something else.

A bloody fight to the finish.

07:00 PM

Gotham

The Batplane swept in a wide arc around Gotham. True to expectation, Alfred had called Batman, tearing him away from a social function. For this, he couldn't say he was sorry. When he had let Nightwing handle this himself, he hadn't counted on things getting so out of hand. The situation was totally out of control. Little did he know just how out of control.

He had contacted the team via radio, and let them in on what had happened. He didn't mention where, or how he knew. Just that there had been an attack on his home. He also had additional intel.

"This is what you're looking for,"

The image flashed to the team was taken in a dark room with night vision. The picture was grainy, but even so, it was possible to make out a number of chairs, a table, and a human figure crouching near one wall. Near the center of the room, body lowered, was a horrible looking creature.

The head was almost wolfish, including a pair of pinned back ears. The head was set on a serpentine neck and dinosaur-like body. Powerful forelimbs ended in wicked looking claws. The creature also had a tail, which was also dinosaurian. Rising in a ridge from its muzzle, over its head, along its neck, down its back and on the top half of its tail was either fur or some kind of spine. The underside of the creature was scaly, including a heavy knotted mass of scaled skin along its sides. Its open mouth exposed razor sharp fangs, which glistened in the night vision camera. Its eyes were aglow in a way that was somehow different from how eyes usually did in night vision There was something wrong about it.

But Kaldur's attention was drawn to the other, the human figure near the wall. He recognized the shape and stance of Nightwing immediately. But there was something wrong about him. Then Kaldur hit on it. His eyes were glowing in the same unnatural way as the creature's.

"Nightwing's changing too," Batman confirmed over the radio, his voice heavy "we have a few hours at most. And then-,"

"And then there will be two of them," Kaldur finished for him.