Notice: I do not own the Batman franchise, but DC Comics does, and this is total bullshit.
THE BAT AND HIS PREY
I know what you're thinking! Oh yes, I know! You look at me and you think, "Oh, what a twisted human being! Only a madman could have done something like that to a woman like her! I hope he's locked up with the key thrown away!".
But I am innocent! I have done nothing wrong! I have spared the Earth from an alien terror too terrible for the eyes of man! I acted as a selfless humanitarian, and for this I am unjustly persecuted!
But perhaps I should settle down. You don't know the truth; you only know the lies. No one listens to my side of the story, the true version of the story. But you will, won't you? Oh, I know you will! You're a kind, sensitive soul, I can see that! Come, come, sit down! This tale is a long one, and I fear I may keep you for some time.
As you may already know, my name is Herbert Peterson Leppard. I was an ordinary person once, just like you. I worked as a banker, I owned a pleasant condo stationed in the classy side of Gotham, and I was married to a wonderful woman whom I truly loved. Her name was Eliza, and she was the most beautiful creature imaginable. She was my best friend, my confidante, my soul mate. Not a day would go by that I did not thank the Almighty for bestowing such a treasure onto such an unworthy man like myself.
At least, I did until I began to learn the truth.
For several days, I became irritated with Eliza for some inexplicable reason. She had done nothing wrong as far as I had known. She continued to fulfill the role of the dutiful wife, as she always did: cooking the meals, cleaning the house, professing her devotion, and so forth.
Yet I knew something was awry. I was no fool! She was hiding something from me, something insidious and audacious. She was mocking me is what she was doing! Laughing at me behind my back! She thought she could fool me, and she secretly belittled me for it!
Gradually, I came to resent Eliza. Eventually, I began to loathe her. I wanted nothing more than to strike her, to scream furiously in her face, to scream that she was a godless whore who should rot in Hell! Yet I restrained myself. Eliza was concocting some deplorable scheme, and I desperately wanted to know what it was. So I smiled and I laughed, all the while seething and trembling with rage. The truth would come in due time. I could be patient. I could wait.
The truth was revealed to me not long thereafter on a dark and stormy night. My wife and I sat in the study, and we read while the rain howled angrily and the sky boomed its ominous warnings. Eliza was reading some weird tale (regarding the Old Ones, I'm sure), while I sat in an armchair with my newspaper. She did not notice, but every so often, I glanced at her with a hateful look. I was still not aware of why I detested her so. I had been pondering this for weeks, but I could still find no viable answer to my dilemma. I continued to wonder that night, using my newspaper as a means of hiding my glowering countenance. I was frustrated with my lack of progress, and I could scarcely control myself. The waiting was agony, but I endured. Soon enough, the riddle would be answered.
The lights went out and Eliza uttered a slight gasp. She stood up from the couch into the newfound darkness, her outline the only visible figure in the entire room. Thunder roared and lightning cracked, and the light revealed Eliza for what she truly was: a demon! A heathen slut! A bride of Lucifer himself! Her genuine appearance was astonishing and so repulsive that I could hardly believe what my eyes were demanding to be the truth. She had disguised her as an ostensibly attractive and innocent looking woman, but before the revelatory crackle of lighting I saw that she had the eyes of a raven, the skin of a snake, the teeth of Cerberus, and horns that could have only belonged to a denizen of the nine circles!
"I knew it!" I screamed while springing to my feet. "Conspiracy! Deceit! You've been trying to taint my soul, you spawn of Beelzebub! Blasted beast, I'll send you back to the abyss from whence you came!"
Eliza stared at me shocked, but the time for manipulation had long past expired. I grabbed my decorative cane stationed closely by my chair, and I let loose a bellow of rage as I descended upon her. I released a barrage of attacks, hitting her everywhere I could. She cried out and slumped to the floor while attempting to shield herself pitifully with her arms. I continued my assault, becoming increasingly enraged as I continued.
"Bitch! Whore!" I screamed in the midst of the termination. "Putrid lover of the anti-Christ! I'll show you! I'll goddamn well show you!"
I was not aware of how much time passed while I lambasted the unholy animal. However, it may very well have been several hours, for by the end I was drenched in sweat, gasping for breath, and could hardly stand. The deafening sound of the irate rainfall superseded my hoarse chokes for air.
Eliza had reverted back to her human form while bludgeoned. She may have been trying to trick me again, to plead with me to stop her punishment while wearing the face of the woman I had foolishly fallen in love with. Nevertheless, her attempt at salvation was ultimately futile. Her gorgeous mask was bruised and disfigured horribly; indeed, if I hadn't seen her until now, I would not have known that it was her lying there in a pool of her own blood. She did not move, she did not breathe, and I knew that she was dead.
I fell to my knees trembling. What I had exterminated was a lowly demon, yet I could not deny that I had developed the most celestial of affections for this devil woman. My trial completed, my heart broke and I began to weep deeply into my hands.
I do not know how long I heard it while the tears streamed down my face and the moans crept out my lips. Perhaps it was strong enough to overpower even the rapid beating of my heart and the wails of my mourning soul. Whatever it was, I noticed it instantly and quickly registered what it was.
The fluttering of wings.
I whirled around, and there, immersed in shadow, revealed by sporadic lightning, stood the most terrible monster of them all!
It was a bat!
It stood as tall as a mountain and was humanoid in form. But this was no human, no, no, no! No human could have glared the way it did, glowering with eyes as white as moonlight! No human could have snarled with such beastly jaws, jaws with two rows of sharp, thick teeth! More horrifying still, his eyes and his mouth were all that I could plainly see! The rest of the aberration was curling, coiling black ink. The sprawls of his form lingered towards me, and I would have vomited out of mortal terror had it touched me. Though nearly numb with petrifaction, I briefly noticed the open window behind the bat. The rain invaded the sanctity of my home, and formed itself into puddles among his feet.
There, I stood frozen in fright; the shadow with the hideous eyes and voracious mouth walked towards me.
"No! No, goddamn you!" I screamed while clumsily stumbling back. "Leave me be, you demonic avenger!"
It stopped for a moment, and then stared at me with some wonder, as if it were deciding on what course of action it should take. But then it resumed its stalking, and my heart leaped into my throat as it became closer, bigger, a shroud threatening to drown me in it's darkness!
"No! No, stay back! Stay back, I say!" I screamed while stepping back from my doom. Upon retrospect, I should have immediately ran out of my adobe and into some safe haven of sorts. But please understand dear listener, understand that the overwhelming grotesque nature of this beast dismantled all sensibilities within me. I daresay that all the great philosophers of our time-- Aristotle, Marx, Nietzsche-- would have babbled madly upon seeing this descendant of the Morningstar!
As I stumbled back, I accidentally struck a small table with a vase on it. Quickly recalling what was contained in said vase, I reached into it and produced my pistol. I thanked the Almighty for granting me the wisdom to purchase such a formidable measure of defense, and turned to face the accursed monstrosity. With this weapon, I was now on equal footing with him, and I myself felt the red, empowering aura of maleficent energy surge through me. This thing intended to send me to the Beyond? Then I would do the same to him!
"Denizen of Hell!" I bellowed, my eyes aflame with unbridled rage as I shot at him. "Back to the brimstone and hellfire with you!"
Though the freak was of a massive build, he evaded my shots with more agility than I thought he would have been capable of. However, not even his astounding speed could match that of my bullets and one of them caught him in his leg. He sank to one knee, and he let loose a roar that rattled my bones and turned my blood cold. Petrified, yet exhilarated with my success, I attempted to fire upon him once more, but alas! I had run out of ammunition! I glanced at the monster, and his reaction was mind numbing in its horror. I had thought he had looked angry before; well dear listener, if he was upset before, then now he was irate. Indeed, what was once white eyes had turned into slits of a dark crimson, and he began to tremble with a terrible energy composed purely of stunned, outraged hatred. I am not humiliated in the least to tell you that it took all of my strength to retain my bladder, and that some droplets managed to stain my pants. I am confident that should anyone else have witnessed the presence of this demon, they too would have experienced similar conditions.
Knowing that I possessed no means of weaponry, I dropped my pistol and fled from my home. The wallpaper of the halls became a blur as I sped past the doors of the other apartments, and my feet complained bitterly as I raced down several flights of stairs. I burst through the door leading into the garage, quickly spotted my vehicle, and climbed in. When I turned on the ignition, the heavenly sounds of Bach's Goldberg Variations ironically blared from my stereo. Paying the music of the angels no mind, I drove my car at full speed out of the garage, into the streets, and away from the tainted city of Gotham!
The more I drove, the more distance I put between me and the indisposed monster. However, despite the increasing quantity of miles between us, despite the deafening volume of Bach, despite the fury of the thunder, and despite the tantrum of the rain and hail, I could still hear it! I could still hear its roar of indignation, and it is a sound I shall never forget for as long as I live! It was a sound that pierced my heart, tore at my mind, and decimated my very soul!
In due time, the bellows became weaker and weaker still. However, the memory of it would not leave my mind, and in that recollection it was as loud as it had first been. I continued to drive far, far away from Gotham, but I still could not shake the sensation that somehow, someway, I had been marked for death by hearing that maddening call for vengeance.