It was a cold, dark night in the cesspool known as Gotham City, a place that did not feel homely, nor safe. A place that made its residents look over their shoulders with every turn. A place that has become known as one of the most hellish, most visceral cities on the planet.
Rain poured down heavily onto the ground, leaving it in puddles. Papers flew by in the wind, while thunder roared in the air, when lightning suddenly flashed and crackled. In a darkened alleyway that appeared crooked and uncomfortably narrow, where the walls looked as if they would close in on you as you walked through, almost like some kind of cheesy trap you'd see in a science-fiction film.
But as unnatural and strange as Gotham itself was, the real danger came with the so-called "Super-Villains", costumed monsters who preyed on the weak and innocent for many reasons. Their own pleasure, their own fame, money, you name it. If there was something anyone could be after, the criminals in Gotham wanted it the most.
A family of three strolled through the crooked alleyway, a young boy around the age of eight, with short combed back brown hair, a green oversized hoodie, and blue baggy jeans with black shoes. The father had a similar hairstyle, though also had a large, thick mustache and a wrinkled forehead, and wore a brown jacket, a black T-Shirt, brown long pants, and black shoes.
The mother wore a standard black dress, had long brown hair in a ponytail, and had black heels. The boy began to run through the alleyway.
"Wait up!" the mother spoke, running up to her child.
"Sorry, mama." responded the boy solemnly, as the father began to catch up to them.
"It's alright, honey," she responded. "Just don't go too far without me."
"Of course, mommy," said the boy, smiling. The three of them continued to walk down the alleyway. "That movie was great, thank you for taking me to see it." he said sincerely, leaving his parents smiling.
"Of course, son," smiled the father. "Did you enjoy your birthday?"
"It was great!" gleefully exclaimed the boy, as the three of them were then suddenly stopped, frozen even.
There was a man in a black ski mask with raggedy old clothes and bloodshot, tired eyes with heavy bags underneath them, with shaky hands covered in bruises and cuts. "Give me whatever you have!" demanded the man.
"I'm...I'm sorry, I don't...have much, but here." said the father, giving over a mere five dollars to the man, who scoffed.
"That's not shit, asshole!" shouted the man. "You gotta have more than that."
"Trust me, I spent what I have on me today. You have to-"
The mugger pointed the gun at the father. "Shut the fuck up before I put one in ya, AND GIVE ME. THE DAMN. MONEY!" angrily exclaimed the mugger, before something shot the gun out of his hand.
He looked to where it came from, and saw a giant black-clad bat creature with sharp, pointy ears glaring down at him from above. It glided down, its white glowing eyes staring into the thug's soul, as he felt the weight of every mistake crawling up his spine.
"You're- You're not supposed to be real!" worriedly said the thug, as he grabbed a knife, trying to jab it at the creature, which seemingly grabbed onto his wrist, breaking it, and making him simultaneously drop the knife.
The bat-creature, whatever it was, then proceeded to punch him in the face, knocking him onto the ground with his eyes closed shut, and making the puddles below splash loudly as he made contact with the ground.
"You're safe," said the bat-creature, before turning to leave.
"Wait," said the mother. "Who are you?"
The bat-creature turned back to the family.
"I'm vengeance." it said, before pulling something out of it's cape, latching it onto the roof, and began to pull upward onto the roof. The family later looked up and saw what looked to be a massive bat flying through the sky.