Disclaimer: I do not own Batman nor do I make any money off of this.

A/N: This is not for the faint of heart. It will contain the kind of extreme violence and darkness that The Dark Knight hinted at. However, it is integral to the plot and the object is to show the effects of this kind of violence, not to glorify it. Reviews, questions and comments are greatly appreciated.

Serial Killer

Jonathan Crane sat in the rec-room at Arkham Asylum, looking up at the TV though not really paying attention. He was alone except for the two guards standing in front of the door- the powers upstairs had decided that Crane should not be allowed to mingle with the other prisoners. Though he doubted it was out of fear for his safety. He'd heard through the grapevine that the only other prisoner afforded such special privileges was the Joker. A wistful, yet somehow sinister, smile slid across his face. That was a pity. Crane would love the chance to try probing through the Joker's thoughts. There was an interesting man. One who loves to push the limits of people's emotions, people's fear, as much as he does.

One of the guards spoke up, "Five more minutes, doctor."

Crane showed no change in his expression, but the guard's words triggered that dark and angry place within him. The lesser man's voice when he had said "doctor" was clearly meant to be insulting. He turned to look at the guard with that cool, blank expression until the other began to twitch slightly. The guard looked like he was about ready to say something, when the jarring sound of 'Special News Bulletin' music came on. Crane calmly turned back to the TV. The 'Special News Bulletins' in Gotham had gotten significantly more interesting as of late. He raised the volume as the newscaster began to speak.

"It has just been reported that the remains of at least ten men were found brutally butchered in a warehouse near the east end of the Gotham docks. While the police are trying to keep the murders quiet, it is rumored that the crime is mob related. One source, who prefers to remain anonymous, believes the slaughter is connected to the murders of three men last week. All the victims were either well-known criminals or men suspected of criminal activity. All of the men were armed with guns. What makes these crimes so unusual is that the perpetrator, or more likely, perpetrators, somehow killed their victims armed only with knives. Is this the beginning of a mob war? How did men armed with knives so easily murder men armed with guns? Is the Batman somehow involved? We will keep you informed of any new breaking developments. Be safe and goodnight."

Crane sat back in his seat and gave an unpleasant smile. For all of Batman's efforts and sacrifice, the city was still is deadly and depraved as ever. He knew he'd have to wait patiently but the urge to immerse himself in all the fear and panic was almost overwhelming.

"Time to go, Crane." With a little more roughness than necessary the rude guard yanked him up by the arm and began tying the straightjacket arms behind him again. If the guard thought he'd impress the Scarecrow with a show of brute force he was sorely mistaken. Crane kept his face expressionless as he was shoved out the door. Walking towards them was the Joker flanked by three nervous looking guards. Crane debated in his head if the lack of make-up made Joker look less frightening or more. At least with the make-up you could imagine the scars were fake; without it they were revealed in all their gruesome glory.

The Joker gave him a cheerful smile. "Hello, Dr. Scarecrow."

Crane felt the guards around them tense, and he gave the Joker a smaller, saner smile in return. He managed to lean toward the other criminal slightly as they moved by, despite the guards yanking both in opposite directions. "You'll love the news tonight."

The two guards holding him yanked him violently away from Joker, confused by his words and worried there was some sinister hidden meaning. Crane started to laugh, just to really get them into a panic, just to remind the guards how pathetic and superficial their toughness really was. The Joker understood. He started laughing, too, even as his guards all but threw him into the rec-room and slammed the door. With the Joker out of sight, Crane straightened up and became completely calm again.

"Shall we go, gentleman?"

He could feel the guards trembling all the way to his cell.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bruce Wayne sat in the cave and stared at the police photos from the crime scenes. Commissioner Gordon had managed to sneak copies of them for Batman without anyone else knowing. When the news had described it as a slaughter, they weren't kidding. Even scanned and magnified by his high tech computers the images were too grainy to tell exactly what kind of weapon had been used against the victims. The severed limbs and spilled guts all over the floor suggested the weapon would've had to be a lot bigger than an ordinary knife. It could be anything from a machete, to an ax or even a sword. If the pictures were clearer he'd be able to rule out the ax fairly easily; the cuts left by an ax would be a lot less clean than a sword or machete. Of course, if there was more than one perpetrator, it could easily be all three.

Bruce rubbed his eyes. The news bulletin had been right to hint at a possible gang war. The three men from last week were from one of the most powerful crime families in Gotham city, while the eleven men from last night had been from a newer, rival group. The news had mentioned at least ten victims and they were pretty close. The total count of dead bodies was eleven. What the news hadn't reported was that there was one survivor, making the total number of men at the meeting twelve. Of course, Gordon was being as quiet as possible about dealing with the witness; for fear that the killers would hunt him down. From what the commissioner told him the criminals didn't need to fear his testimony. The witness wasn't more than a kid, and the sight of the massacre had traumatized him badly. The police had found him hiding behind a few crates, curled in the fetal position. Gordon told him the only thing the kid would mutter was "I promise to be good", over and over.

The police had been able to identify most of the victims and the commissioner had given him all the names. With the exception of the kid, whose worst previous offence was a non-violent mugging, the rest were hardened criminals. Each one had at least one murder charge on their records and most were accused of other violent crimes as well, including rape, kidnapping and torture.

He heard Alfred stepping up behind him. "Still at it, Master Bruce?"

"The kid's a clue."

Alfred looked up at the mug shot of young man, still in his teens, and his police profile. "You mean the only survivor?"

Bruce shook his head, "He didn't survive, Alfred. He was spared." He finally turned away from the image to look at Alfred. "There's no way that eleven far more experienced, far more violent criminals could be completely slaughtered and yet some kid with hardly any experience managed to hide." Bruce looked up at the picture again. "The survivor was caught. Gordon mentioned he had some pretty bad bruises, so he was probably beaten, but he wasn't cut up like the others."

"Perhaps he got lucky and disarmed his attacker. Or maybe the attacker had lost his weapon fighting with someone else?"

Bruce frowned, "I had thought of that too, but it would mean that there was only one perpetrator. A group of guys armed with blades winning against a group of guys with guns is far-fetched enough. Just one guy is…"

"You've managed well enough without a gun, sir." Alfred's voice was quiet.

Bruce sighed and looked up, "You're right, I shouldn't ignore the possibility that there's only one killer. But I still find it strange that the kid was spared. It seems too coincidental that the killer got through eleven men but lost his weapon before he managed to kill his last victim."

The butler sighed. He had to agree with Bruce about that. "Perhaps you should rest on it awhile, sir. It may help you approach things from a fresh perspective."

Bruce looked at the picture one last time, then stood up and followed Alfred upstairs.