Chapter Text
Bruce went pale as he realised the man had been looking at him this entire time. His one visible eye was staring at him with an intensity that chilled him to the bone. The pupil being incredibly tiny, while the iris was massive. He steeled himself, closing his eyes for a moment to collect his thoughts. He was Batman, he doesn't get scared of murderers.
Opening his eyes, the man was gone. Vanished without a trace. Slightly terrifying, but more of a disappointment than anything. It just meant another murder without any ties other than the guy's appearance. Bruce sighed, feeling disheartened. This was shitty. He was actually there this time, and didn't do anything to catch the man or stop him. Bullock was going to have a LOT to say about this, and he was not ready for the headache of that lecture.
Bruce turned around, and the man was right there, knife brandished. In a split second, he jumped out of the way and landed on the roof of the warehouse.
(I'm just going to refer to the man as "it" so I don't have to keep using Bruce's name every sentence. And I guess it kind of makes sense due to the guy's weird appearance and unnatural movements.)
It jumped onto the roof after him, the shadow never moving from its face. It moved unnaturally fast for a human of its size, making it hard for Bruce to dodge. He wasn't expecting this, he wasn't ready. Usually, he already had a plan with one singular look at the enemy, but this one? It moved like nothing he had ever seen, looked vaguely human, but not human enough to be classified as one. The thing could bend and jump like nothing he'd ever seen before. Even Plastic Man wasn't this bendy.
Bruce eventually slipped up in the dodging, the thing's knife getting stuck in his upper arm. It was almost touching the bone, and he could feel it moving around in his arm with his every step. Befote he could grab the knife to pull it out, the man grabbed it, and tore through Bruce's arm, making him yell out in pain. He stumbled back, clutching his torn skin that was pouring blood. The man took its chance, lunging forward and tackling him. The warehouse roof creaked loudly as his back hit it hard, the man already on top of him, clutching his throat as tightly as it could, which was way tighter than Bruce expected.
Bruce sputtered, blood dripping from his lips as he coughed and hacked. The thing raised its knife, removing one of its hands from his neck to do so. It stabbed him several times in non-lethal areas, like the shoulders, arms, and hands. Basically anywhere it could reach without much effort. All the while, it stared. Somehow, despite the stabbing and strangling and the unnatural movements that it had been doing this entire time, the staring was the scariest thing. It had not blinked or stopped looking straight into his eyes once. Even when Bruce had gotten some hits in, the thing didn't flinch or stop looking.
The thing finally let go, standing up. You'd expect a quip or cool intro line from it by now, like usual Batman villians. But no. It didn't speak a word. The knife disintegrated in its hands, along with any trace of the thing. It just turned to dust and blew away in the wind, leaving Bruce alone on the roof. You remember that creaking? Well, it was mentioned for a reason.
Bruce fell through the unstable roof that had been weakened by their confrontation, and landed on one of the many bodies. He got a face full of organs, which smelled awful, and was ever so slightly traumatising. He backed up immediately, wincing with every pull backwards. His arms were still bleeding profusely, and those wounds could get easily infected in there. He called Alfred in slight panic, panting.
"Alfred, please drive straight to the old warehouse near the police department. It's an emergency. I've been attacked. About 8 stab wounds, all from my hands to my shoulders. Also a possible neck injury from strangling."
"Understood, Master Bruce. Hang tight in there. Are you completely safe at this current moment? No enemies or dangers lurking?"
"I'm safe, yes. Just in a lot of pain."
"I figured that. Good lord, assume an old geezer like me has a brain for once, Master Bruce. Heh."
"Oh shush, Alfred. I know you're smart."
"Hehehe. Nevertheless, I will be there soon."
"Thanks, Alfred. I owe you."
"So you'll raise my pay?"
"No."
"Worth a try, I suppose."
"I'm kidding. I'll raise it."