Rating: PG, I guess.
Summary: Halloween (of course). Tim is nervous (as always). Bruce is
scared (...what?). And no fear gas anywhere. I don't *need* fear gas to
scare Batman! [evil author's laugh].

***

Fearsome Things That Prowl the Night
By Marcelo (mrinesi@fibertel.com.ar)

***

Halloween is supposed to be the one night when fearsome things
prowl the night.  I fear them not.

I *am* the Night.
I *am* Fear.
I am *Batman*.

Tonight, I will... I will relieve Clark of monitor duty.
That's the only rational course of action --- to spend the
night in the moon. He will be curious, but he won't suspect that
I am evading a situation.

Because I'm not evading anything.

Right.

I'm just not ready to face it. I don't think I can handle the players,
and the location is an invitation to disaster. Gotham will have to survive 
through the night by itself.

***

There are a few tacit, almost subconscious rules all the citizens
of Gotham follow. They aren't written down in a municipal rule or
enforced by a zealous pressure group. Ask the gothamites about
them and they'll deny their existence, maybe even honestly. But
the rules exist, and nobody crosses them.

	There is no Batman. Muggers just tend to faint a
	lot.
	
	Clowns aren't funny. 

	Batman can kick Superman's butt any day. Even if he
	doesn't exist.

	In Halloween you don't dress as a clown. Or a scarecrow. Or
	somebody with a big, big hat.  Those characters have a
	different meaning for citizens of Gotham City, who
	tend to have lives rather more colorful than, say,
	those of Washington --- and often shorter ones, too.

Of course, few (if any) of the people of Gotham City had had a
life as colorful as that of Dinah Lance, dethroner of Third World
tyrannies, bane of international drug rings, and only person this
side of Alfred Pennyworth who could make the Batman uncomfortable. As
she watched from a dark alley children trick-or-treating, there
was hardly any costume which didn't "ring a bell" with her.

A giant snake reminded her of would-be world rulers with
chemical weapons and murderous intentions.

A "walking corpse" reminded her of would-be world rulers with
bad clothes and romantic intentions.

A toodler-sized, adorable hamster reminded her of would-be
world rulers with psychological problems and, apparently,
no romantic intentions...

Dinah swore under her breath, mostly out of habit. He wasn't
coming. Of course. Annoying, yes, but expected. She wouldn't let
herself be distracted by the failure of a predictably unsuccessful
gambit. She...

...She was starting to sound like Him, even inside her head. The word
she mumbled was much stronger this time, and was quickly followed
by a thin, feral smile. Dinah hoped, as unprofessional as it might
be, that something dark, bad and pissed off would chance into her
before Halloween were over. She had more than one tension to
work off, and kicking butt was her favorite relaxation
method.

Behind her, unseen and unheard, something was nestled in the dark,
hoping that a more entertaining... companion than Canary would
appear. It was a *dark* something, even in its best day. It was a
*bad* something --- one of the most lethal things that ever prowled
a Halloween night . And it was very quickly getting pissed off.

It silently growled. Another half an hour, tops, and then it would
reveal itself to Dinah.

It was getting hungry.

***

Tim Drake, Robin III, "young hero most likely to die from an
ulcer before hitting 25" (according to his team), survivor
of the Clench, victor of many battles, Squire to the Bat,
was scared. He had been informed of the standing situation, and
his quick intellect had grasped at once the tactical and
strategic implications.

He didn't like them. Specially those aspects of the situation that
involved him. He could envision all sorts of scenarios unfolding,
and although some of them seemed advantageous, his battle-tested
intuition told him that serious bodily harm was far more likely. Or
even death. He was no stranger to danger, but he shuddered when
he pictured the quick, ruthless death that would likely follow his
slightest mistake. And how could he avoid making one? He had
theoretical knowledge, of course, and a certain experience.
But nothing on this league. He doubted even Batman had.

Scared as he was, of course, should Batman give the 'go' he would
follow. To do less would have been more than dishonorable.  It would
have been unthinkable. Where Batman led, Robins followed.

Even *tonight*. Even *there*. Even to...

Then, he wasn't sure that Batman would give the 'go'. Batman's
own part in the situation would be also quite exceptional. Tim knew
better than almost everybody that Batman wasn't as invulnerable as he made
himself appear to be, and tonight's situation would put a strain on
almost all of his weak points. He wouldn't be surprised if Batman
decided to wait out this one in the Cave, or maybe in the Moon.

But when he entered the Cave and found Batman taking off his suit,
he thought what every Robin was trained, almost born, to think:
Batman had a plan. Batman *would* face the challenge and he, *they*,
would *prevail*. How could he have ever thought otherwise? Ashamed of
himself, Robin vowed not to show any doubt or fear, even in this,
likely the last night of his life.

"So, Boss, we are going, right? I'm looking forward to it,
to tell the truth."

Batman froze. He had been changing his "patrol" suit for the one
he used in the Watchtower (space-proof, with an electronic override
of the Watchtower internal sensors), fully intent to wait out this
one in the Moon. But Robin thought that he was going to go out
as a civilian, facing tonight's challenge in the most direct and
unexpected way.

And, if he was to be honest with himself, he hadn't the
heart to disappoint him.

Or a certain unpredictable, irresistible blonde.

"Yes."

Robin grimaced. "Oh, well" --- he thought --- "I better
suit up for my funeral". 

Watching the boy smile at his answer and change at once into civilian
clothes, Batman marveled, not for the first time, at the boundless
courage of his protégé.

***

If they had waited five more minutes, the lethal creature of the
night would have made itself known to Dinah. Not that the blonde
warrior would had been surprised ---for their encounter was
practically certain, in this night, in this place--- but both of
them would have preferred that Batman and Robin were there.

It was to both their delights, then, that an almost nervous
Batman and a half-scared, half-resigned Robin walked into the
alley. Their unusual method of locomotion and civilian clothing
gave the hidden creature no pause, for it could recognize them in any
disguise or situation. It expected, in fact, for them to be dressed
in this way --- as it expected to be found. It wouldn't have been
fun otherwise, would it?

"Cassandra" ---said Bruce--- "come out."

Cassandra Cain, not in the least intimidated, walked
directly towards the quite intimidated (but gamely trying to
cover it) Tim Drake. By training and temperament, she
favored the direct approach.

"Hungry. Bored. This... date?"

A lesser man would have fainted. Or run. A sane man wouldn't even
be there. But Tim dressed in red and yellow to fight psychopaths and
things from space, and, moreover, he was good at it.  That involved,
he reflected, a certain attraction to danger.  Otherwise how could
he be starting to *enjoy* this Double Date from Hell?

"Not yet, Cass. The date hasn't started yet."

Cass pondered the situation for about half a second. Then she took his
hand and, without giving him any time to react, took him out of
the alley and across the street.

"Start now."

Dinah chuckled at the scene. Bruce almost ceased to be grim, his
version of a chuckle, but he stopped noticing them when he became aware
of Dinah's full, deep gaze focusing in his. She was unsettling him in the
first five minutes, as always.

"This won't be easy," she warned him, and he knew that she
wasn't worried about him --- she was worried *for* him. Very few
people did, and he preferred it that way.

Except tonight.

"I know," he answered, letting his trepidation show in his
voice.

She smiled at him, proud and caring, and he was reminded of his
mother... alive. Not in a nearby alley, her blood spilling in the
pavement, but in the house, hearing him tell everything he had done
in the day, proud of the trees he had climbed and the stories he had
learned. It wasn't often that he remember her that way. Maybe this,
unlikely as it seemed, was actually a good idea.

His hand in hers, Bruce followed Dinah, Tim and Cass to his
first movie in far too long.

.finit.