The crook ran as fast as he could up the abandoned building's stairs. He did not stop until he made it to the top floor, where he flopped down. It was late in the night, with only the moon showing through the windows providing light.
When he caught his breath, he opened the wallet and took stock of what he had. He was admiring a few high end credit cards when he heard a noise. He looked around but saw no one. With a sudden realization, he glanced at all the windows. Nothing, except for a bit of a gargoyle showing on the ledge.
The crook breathed easily and continued to go through his loot, chuckling about how the police were probably thinking the Riddler pulled the robbery off with the riddle the crook left. He was certain the riddle was so good it would fool Batman himself, the freak who was probably a gargoyle himself…
The crook had glanced at the window, but he took a closer look when he noticed something. What looked like a gargoyle was gone. The crook shook his head, figuring he mistook what window he saw the gargoyle in. The windows did all look alike, since banks usually don't go for fancy enhancements like different windows, brighter paints, or gargoyles…
That's when the realization hit the crook: This old bank building he was in never had gargoyles on it. Even more disturbing, he just noticed a shadow coming over him.
A shadow shaped like a bat.
The crook looked up and saw Batman looking down at him. The crook tried to get up to run but was held down by Batman, who looked him straight in the eye. The crook heard rumors of Batman being a giant bat, but he could see it was just a man in a mask. That didn't help. The mask was a blank frown, with only white showing where the eyes should be. His mouth, the only thing shown, was in a grimace.
"When you're serving your time," Batman said in hoarse whisper "I want you to remember me. Because if I see you again, I may not catch you."
"C-C-C-Catch me?" the crook said. "What are you talking abo…"
The next second, the crook was flying through a window, breaking through it and pummeling towards the ground. His life flashed through his eyes as he got closer to the ground…
at a slower pace than when he started. It was at this point he realized something had grabbed his back. By the second story, he was falling as gently as a feather. He continued like this until he was five feet from the ground.
At that, he fell like a rock.
The police arrived in time to see the crook fall the last five feet, released from a vertical zip line. He was dazed and had a small cut on his eyebrow, but was otherwise fine enough to be brought up on robbery charges. Commissioner Gordon watched as the cars drove away. As they left, Gordon turned around expectantly. He was not disappointed.
"A little excessive, even for you, don't you think?" Gordon asked.
"It's an experiment." Batman said, in less of a whisper. "I have a feeling it'll be successful."
"Who am I to question your tactics?" Gordon said, bemused, while wiping his glasses. "Just don't go farther. Slippery slope you're on."
As he replaced his glasses, Gordon saw he was alone. Where Batman stood was a note. Gordon took the note and read it. It said…
I won't.
