Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Don't Fear the Bat, Fear the Man II

I looked at my watch one more time to be sure that exactly one hour has passed. I furrowed my eyebrows as I saw that one hour has indeed passed. I slowly turned my head to look over to Jonathan, and could see that he was staking another book filled with chemical formulas in the third pile he has built. To say I was surprised would be an understatement, especially as he's writing down a few notes. The pen flew like crazy on the piece of paper, and the pages were being turned without having to go over it twice. He simply kept writing, only stopping to readjust his glasses and continuing once more.

He's definitely got chemistry figured out as if it was nothing more than explaining what the weather was, or what color a strawberry is. I wouldn't expect less from someone who was able to develop his own toxin, even though it wasn't in any way beneficial to society. But the rate he's able to solve so many complex formulas in less than one hour, it's quite mind-boggling. It's kind of sad that he chose a path of villainous, while he could have used that intellect for the better of others. I guess he has his reasons for doing what he did, and maybe he'll never tell me but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

"Penny for your thought Mr. Wayne."

I got out of my daze, and looked over to Jonathan putting away the last book he had to finish.

"How-"

He turned around, and tossed the black pen at me. "I could feel your stare on my back; it was really uncomfortable to work in those conditions. Tell me, do you make a habit at staring at your employees as they work?"

I gave a small smile. "Only to those who hold a certain reputation."

Jonathan gave a small frown towards me, but turned away before he could say anymore. He started placing the books he had taken out from the bookshelf, and began placing them back on it. I made my way over to help him as he had five heavy books in his arm.

I grabbed the first three books on the top of the stack he was caring. "You could've just asked for some help." And I started placing the books that were lying on the table on the bookshelf.

He frowned. "Mr. Wayne, I don't think I've asked you for your help."

I merely ignored him as I placed the last book on the shelf. "I know, but it wouldn't hurt from time to time to ask for some assistance, and in any case, what did you find with all those chemicals you've researched?"

Jonathan smirked as he folded the piece of paper in which he had taken his notes. "I'll tell you, if you do something for me in return."

I frowned as he was back to doing the I-give-you-give situation with me once more. "What do you want now?"

He ran a hand through his tousled hair. "Oh, not much," he looked around the room, "just that I want to work in that other chemical lab you have here."

I narrowed my eyes as he continued to have that smirk on his face. "No, that lab is not-"

"For someone like me? Spare me Mr. Wayne, if you want this information I gathered here then all you have to do is give me access to your lab. Although, I do admit that this one those have its charm, I rather settle for something a little more spacious."

I don't know what happened to make someone so smart like him become like this, to say I wasn't the least bit interested to know would be a lie. Looking at him straight in the face, I could see that his azure eyes held this gleam to them, like he was enjoying something as his own personal joke that no one else could be able to comprehend. He looked like he held this sort of wicked stare, as he never moved his gaze from mine.

Being to overcome from my curiosity I asked him with a straight face. "Why do you do the things that you do?"

His gleam instantly disappeared as it was overcome with a hint of uncertainty, but it held for only a moment. But his smirk completely vanished, showing that he was uncomfortable with my question. He looked to the side, and tilted his head to look back at me, staring at me with those azure eyes of his. He looked as if he was contemplating an answer.

He parted his lips to speak, but closed them back up. Moving his head to look straight at me as he finally looked ready to answer my question, giving that smirk once again. "I respect the mind's power over the body. It's why I do what I do."

I opened my mouth to ask more questions, but before I could ask any more questions, I heard the door to the lab open. Showing my employee with his lab coat on, and his identification card on hand. He first looked at me, but his eyes started to widen as he looked at the man beside me. I felt my heart beat quicken as he looked over to Jonathan Crane. I looked over to Jonathan to see that he looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"I-I never thought that you, Mr. Wayne would be capable to bring such a man to Wayne Enterprise. Have you no idea what he is capable of?"

Before I got to have a say, Jonathan beat me to it. "I believe what you meant to say is, what you're capable of, Mr. Langstrom. Or should I say that your every day 'Bat' scrapbooking is as normal as placing one compound with another compound."

What is he talking about?

"You really are mad; with what evidence do you think you can accuse me of? As a matter of fact I should simply just call the police-"

"You will not!"

Both Jonathan and Langstrom turn to look at me, Langstrom having a shocked look on his face while Jonathan has a calm composure. Langstrom pointed to Jonathan in an accusative way. "Are you defending this man Mr. Wayne? Surely you don't mean to-"

"Langstrom, since when have you been in charge to start giving around orders around here? As I remember, you shouldn't be worried about him, you should be worried about the fact that you have been using this lab for three weeks now, and have yet to file a report about your work. I want to remind you that today we needed to have a meeting, I'm glad you came back so we can settle this. So, tell me Dr. Langstrom, what have you been working on?"

Langstrom stopped any movement in his body, letting his arms hang by his torso. He looked lost, and unable to come up with a reply. "I-I was studying bats Mr. Wayne. You should know that I'm working on a way to figure out a cure for deafness Mr. Wayne. For-"

Jonathan interrupted him. "Yourself, I presume."

"Shut up! What do you know anyway? If you should know, I specialize in the study of bats; it's only natural that I do my job to find a cure for deafness!"

I turn to Langstrom, and cross my arms. "And you couldn't file a report on this, because..."

Jonathan finished answering for me. "Because he wanted the serum all for himself, isn't that right?"

I looked over to Jonathan with a confused look. "Serum?"

Jonathan adjusted his glasses, and pulled out the paper he had taken his notes on. "Yes, you see Mr. Wayne, Langstrom has already developed a serum for 'deafness', and taking a look on these notes, I can see that it's nowhere near a cure, but closer to an evolution, if you will. You say you specialize in bats, but from what you're saying, you lacked the part in where you mention that 'you' become a bat."

I frowned, and looked back to Langstrom, who had his head bowed in defeat. Then he gives a small chuckle. "Hehehe, that's quite impressive of you. Being able to decipher all those notes in a matter of hours is quite impressive indeed," Langstrom looks up, and shows a calm smile on his face, "you're correct, sir, please do give him a cookie Mr. Wayne." Jonathan frowned. "I have indeed created a serum in which not only deafness can be cured, but also have a small side effect. One of which has interested me since the Batman has come to Gotham all those months ago." Langstrom walked over to a table in where the chemicals were settled in, looking into them, one by one. "I've always wondered why bats were always considered a threat to those of the outside world, and yet this 'Man' comes around proclaiming that he is the Bat-Man, a man who fights for this outside world, I do find that quite entertaining, and ironic. So, I thought to myself, "why a Bat-Man, and not a Man-Bat instead?" it's something that caught my attention since his arrival in this city."

The more Langstrom talked, the more I could feel some sort of coldness in the room. Like every word he said held some sort of coldness behind it that didn't even come close to match when Jonathan would talk about the Batman, the man who supposedly ruined his life. And that smile he had made him look like he was enjoying every second of this. I'll never understand the interest many people have with the Batman.

I frowned at Langstrom as he slowly moved his hand into his lab coat, probably to retrieve something from it. "What do you hope to accomplish with this, Langstrom?"

Langstrom took out a syringe from his coat, and held it out in front of his face. "It's all for the good of science, Mr. Wayne. And now, I think it's time for a new and improved Bat-Man. Say hello to Man-Bat."

He then took the syringe he had in his hand, and injected himself with the serum. Langstrom quickly dropped it once he used it up, and grabbed at his head, almost looking as if he was in pain, clenching his teeth together. While, Jonathan, and I just stared wide eyed at what was happening.

Then after some echoing sounds of pain, Langstrom began to slowly transform. A pair of black wings started to grow where his arms once where, ripping his lab coat to shreds, he also started to grow in height, as his legs took on a shape of hairy, right angled, skinny long legs, shredding his shoes, and only leaving him in a pair of ripped gray pants. He resembled-completely-a man shaped bat.

His bat head looked over to us, shining those red eyes towards us. "KYAH!" He came running in full force, and I quickly pushed Jonathan to the other side of the room, making him fall over on the floor, as I quickly jumped to the other side to dodge his attack. Langstrom stopped before he could impact the wall, and turned around, not looking at either of us but looking at the small window leading to Gotham city.

No! I knew what he was about to do as he charged at the window. Breaking it and making window shards fall all over the floor. I stood up, and ran up to the broken window, seeing as Langstrom flew away into the night sky.

"Well, this is a terrible predicament."

I looked over to Jonathan, who has just stood up and was brushing away any existing dust on his suit.

I walked towards him to see if he was okay. "Are you alright?"

He pushed up his glasses on his nose, and frowned. "Hardly, but I'll survive."

I looked to his arm he was holding, and could see there was a gush of red there. "You're hurt." I moved my arm to see but he moved it away from me.

"I'm fine, just a scratch. I can barely even feel it."

I frowned. "That's because you can't feel it. Now, let me see it!"

He turned from me as I once again tried to reach towards it. "Don't! I told you already, I'm fine. Don't you have bigger things to worry about than a small wound like this?"

He was right, I did have bigger things to worry about, but seeing that blood come out of his arm made me worry more about his injury. I looked at his face, and could see that he held a small frown as he stared at the shattered window. But his composure was calm which was strange.

"I thought you feared bats?" I meant to keep it in my head, but instead I accidently blurted it out, and I couldn't stop it coming out of my mouth before it was too late.

Jonathan looked surprised at my outburst, but quickly composed himself. "Hardly, I don't fear a mere bat; let alone an overgrown man who changed his form to look like one."

I looked over to the shattered window leading to Gotham City. I know, you only fear me.

I whispered. "You know how to change him back, don't you?"

He only nodded as a response, but that was good enough for me. I grabbed his scarf that he had on his neck, and pulled it off him, tearing it, so that I could use it to bandage up his arm. He looked at me with a frown, but I ignored it and wrapped his arm with the scarf, tying it to knot once I was done. I gave him back his scarf, and he wrapped it around himself.

I walked towards the door, and opened it up. "Come on, we need to make a cure to change Langstrom back."

Jonathan looked at me with a confused stare. "Need to, Mr. Wayne, I don't need to help you look for a cure. I say, let that oversized idiotic bat create havoc upon the city."

Not again.

I closed the door, and looked over to Jonathan, giving him a stern look. "Listen, Jonathan, I rather not do this right now. So, just come along, and-"

"No."

I frowned, and closed my eyes, regretting what I was about to say. "I'll give you full access to the other chemical lab."

Jonathan looked very interested in my offer, but as always he needs to add more. "Any time I want?"

I sighed. "Yes, any time you want. But only if you make a cure."

He had a smile on his face. "Then what are we waiting for, that overgrown bat won't change back to an insignificant human by itself, now."

He pushed past me, and opened the door, gesturing for me to go first. Sometimes, I really hate this guy.

We made it to my car, and got inside. I looked over to Jonathan to see that he was having trouble with his seat belt. I grabbed the seat belt, and placed it on him. Starting the car I rapidly got out of the parking space, making Jonathan grab at his injured arm.

"Warn a guy before you do something so reckless, and what's the rush, where are we headed?"

I cut off a car as I answer his question. "We're headed back to the mansion."

"Why?"

"Because in the mansion; I have my own personal lab."

I just hope we make it in time to cure Langstrom. Right now the people of Gotham must have taken notice of a flying bat. But it's not a bat they should fear, it's the man.

A/N: Kirk Langstrom as you can tell is the one that goes by the name Man-Bat. Also I made a quick reference from the movie Batman Begins, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to figure what it is.

Review, and tell me what you think of this chapter. To the ones that reviewed, as always they are appreciated.

On another note: I read that Cillian Murphy will once again portray the Scarecrow in the final film of The Dark Knight Rises, I wonder what his role is going to be, but I bet it's going to be amazing, I just hope that it last longer than 5 minutes, but even then, he was still amazing! What are your thoughts on this?