#i still think he's a whiny little snot that punches his way through problems. but he was onto something with the bat thing

[batcave-dinosaur]

One fic I've thought about writing for the longest time has been generally about Bruce interacting with the bats in the Batcave. Maybe a couple years in, Bruce starts to think about how his presence in the cave might be disturbing the bat population and seeks advice from experts to fix that, possibly from Kirk Langstrom.

My man finds out about white-nose syndrome and is like Oh Fuck, I gotta quarantine these guys for their own safety so I don't disturb their hibernation over the winter. The rabies possibility is also a consideration. He researches the Milwaukee Protocol and makes note of it in his vast and growing list of contingencies. It may not be considered perfectly effective, but it's also the only way that anyone has ever survived symptomatic rabies. He'd rather it not get that far and notes down contact information for nearest places he can get himself and Alfred vaccinated.

The walls he builds (with doors in case there's ever a need for access) to give the bats a place to roost don't keep all of them out of the main cave space, though. He still finds some occasionally, squeaking and screeching in the stalactites. He makes sure to keep his vehicles and machinery within certain noise levels and pitches so as not to disturb them too much, especially in winter. When he's joined by little Dick Grayson and then others down the line, one of the first things he briefs them on when they first start venturing down into the cave (in the general safety rules presentation) is how to best respect the bats.

I also have this image in my head of Batman consensually kidnapping a willing chiropterologist (bat scientist) to bring to the cave in person (blind-folded and with no idea what route they took). Idk what for necessarily, I just think the image is funny. He goes to them as The Bat-Man and this researcher is feeling a lot of ways but mostly charmed by his autistic rizz and care for these animals. Especially the fact that of course he lives in a fucking cave. Of course he does.