#alien pets

I dunno my dude.

This looks pretty cute to me! Look at that creature! It's so round! And it's got fur! I'll guarantee there's probably some diversity among individual barghests, but then again we only ever saw one in canon I believe?

Just look at that face. Look at that smile! It screams cute alien doggo lizard to me!

For @superbatbigbang unofficial inktober prompt list

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Bruce loved animals - otherwise, he wouldn't have let Damian compulsively adopt a dog, a cat and a cow and let him use the manor as a recovery for any stray or injured pet he found - but he honestly couldn't understand why his colleagues were all being turned to mush by what seemed to be the Xovaran equivalent of kittens: black fuzzy balls with huge green eyes, way too many sharp teeth and tentacles that sprouted out without any kind of warning sign and wrapped around anyone and anything in their vicinity.

No, Bruce really didn't understand: he didn't see cute pets - he saw hyperactive, breathing and living nightmares jumping all over the place.

Maybe it was slightly paranoid of him but an healthy dose of paranoia - together with heaps of luck and an admittedly very wide stubborn streak - had kept him alive for so long in a city like Gotham, facing off the worst a twisted mind and a complete lack of restraint had to offer.

Clark stood up with one of those things clutched close to his chest and Bruce felt queasy at the way it rubbed up against him, inky and deceptively innocuous-looking tentacles wrapped around his neck and shoulders; it might have been true that it would take a lot to kill Clark and that an alien pet probably wasn't going to even tickle the other man, but did Clark have to risk it in such a stupid way?

Didn't he have a little mercy for his poor nerves?

"Don't come any closer" he growled and, as if perceiving his glare even when it was hidden behind the milky lenses of the cowl, the thing suddenly retreated its tentacles and let out a whimpering noise through its shark-like teeth as it seemed to cower deeper into Superman's chest.

But Bruce wasn't fooled - no: he would keep his eyes open and stay alert, save his friends' asses when the things inevitably revealed themselves for the heavy creatures they were and he'd also have the immense pleasure of lecturing them about being careless around unknown aliens.

No matter how cute they thought they were.

"Aww you scared it, B" Clark cooed, one finger gently smoothing the short and silky fur that shone under the lights, a sign that it clearly was well groomed "There's no need to be afraid, sweetie: the big Bat is a softie - just like you"

Bruce didn't know whether it bothered him more to be compared to that creature or to be called a softie "I'm nothing like that thing"

"You're both black, kinda scary and terribly cuddly" Clark remarked with a bright grin, making the thing in his arms flash an hint of those sharp teeth in what it probably was supposed to be a smile.

"See if you're getting any cuddles when we get back on Earth" there wasn't much use claiming that he didn't do cuddles - not to the man who held him while they slept and tenderly woke him up caressing his hair and kissing his forehead.

But he could be mean and kick Clark out of his bed.

Literally.

"You wouldn't"

"I so would"

Clark frowned "Alright, you would" he sighed and looked down at the fuzzy pet in his arms: it looked so warm and cozy and cute - what did Bruce have against it? "It's harmless"

"Did you get a degree in Xovaran zoology?"

"No"

"Have you ever been in contact with these things before?"

"No"

Clark winced: he knew perfectly well where the line of questioning was going to lead them, he'd been on the bad side of Bruce's lectures to recognise the pattern without much effort.

"Then you can't really know if it's harmless, can you?"

No, he couldn't - Clark sighed, eyelashes fluttering over his cheeks "No, I can't" he stated out loud, giving Bruce wanted to hear: that he was right and that his reasoning made perfect sense "They're still cute, though"

"I don't think so" Bruce admitted, wincing when the thing sprouted a tentacle and wrapped it around Clark's finger.

"Why?"

Bruce shrugged "They look... like something that might have crawled out of Gotham's sewers"

And Clark couldn't really blame Bruce for thinking that: Gotham had the unfortunate habit of springing the most unexpected and horrible things on Batman and his clan of heroes - it was a city in which nightmares literally came to life, thanks to a whiff of Scarecrow's Fear Gas "I won't come closer and I'll stay alert" he promised "Can you at least take pictures for Robin, though?" Clark was fairly sure that Damian would love the little creatures.

Bruce contemplated the request for a few seconds before he let tension drain away from his shoulders "Fine - but I'm doing it for Robin"

For Damian's rare and excited smile.

And for Clark's, fond and amused.

Luis Royo, Alien Pets

That reminds me: I'm not sure where that Anon thought the barghest were small, like... Here's the barghest puppet next to a fully grown man.

That is not a small doggo. That is like medium-ish range big doggo...

Then again we only have ever seen Izby, a singular female of the species.

We have no idea if there's a size range or even sexual dimorphism displayed by the barghest. For all we know males could be fuzzier and smaller or completely bare with prominent bone ridges or ornate markings for mating displays. All we really know is that despite their monstrous appearance, these are very loyal mammalian pets.

And I think they're very cute.