I do not own Batman, Alfred, or any other named character here. They belong to DC Comics. This was written purely for fun.

Gotham City came into view, its silhouetted skyscrapers rising over the horizon and brightening the night sky with light pollution. How the city seemed to come more to life after the sunset was amazing…but also devastating. Much of the nightly activity that went on in Gotham in the dark was on the other side of the law...

Hence why he was out.

Batman shifted the Batmobile into another gear and sped toward the city, ready to begin the nightly patrol. From behind his dark cowl, he scanned the sky for any hint of the bat-signal. No sign of it yet… Normally, he wouldn't have much of a problem with an evening when he didn't see the bat-signal, but this was the fourth night without it. He was growing a little concerned, if not a little paranoid.

"Still no sign of it, Alfred," Batman said into his radio transmitter in his dark, brooding voice. He returned his eyes to the road before him, continuing to speed toward the city limits.

"It's still early in the evening, Master Bruce," came the English-accented response from Alfred, who was sitting down in the caves beneath Wayne Manor.

Batman glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard. 11:45 PM. It was still relatively early in the night, but that fact did nothing to calm the vigilante's nerves. "I don't know, Alfred…" he began slowly after a lengthy pause. "It just seems so…unnatural. It shouldn't be this quiet, not in Gotham."

He reached the city limits of Gotham and quickly parked his vehicle in its normal hidden spot. He jumped out and raced into a darkened alley, clicking a button on his belt to engage the locks. He whipped out his grappling hook and shot it skyward. Before long, he was atop the buildings, looking out over the city and its citizens.

Nothing seemed out of place…everything appeared to be calm for the night.

He didn't buy it. Something was amiss in the vast city; he was sure of it. Yes, he knew that there were probably robberies going on here and there, but the Gotham City Police Department could easily take care of those. He felt like something greater was going on, something beyond the common burglary…

He had double-checked the patient list at Arkham before he had headed out for his patrol. There were several big-name villains out prowling the streets, plotting their next big criminal act…

…but where were they? Surely they weren't all lying low. He couldn't shake the suspicion and the paranoia. Something was up; he just needed to find out what.

A car alarm sounded off in the distance. The Dark Knight's eyes shifted in the direction of the noise for a moment before he continued studying the city. …probably just some deviant teenagers, trying to steal a car and have a good time.

A second alarm sounded in the night, clashing with the first and coming from the same direction. Batman looked off in the direction of the disturbance again. Faintly over the sound of the alarms, he could hear screams.

His eyes narrowed as his hand immediately went to the grappling hook on his utility belt. Bingo. He shot the hook at a building and swung into action, gliding over the streets of Gotham toward where more and more screams were beginning to sound. Amidst the screaming and car alarms came the sound of shattering glass. He was close.

"Alfred," he said into a wireless set hidden behind his mask in his ear, "call the police and tell them there is an incident around what appears to be 12th Street."

"Yes, sir."

The Caped Crusader swung around a building and landed on the ledge of a window. The flashing headlights of the cars whose alarms were going off lit and darkened the scene in a steady pattern. From the glow of the lights, he could see a few bodies, lying in pools of blood. They weren't just killed…they looked slaughtered. Shadows of civilians running away appeared and disappeared with the flashing of the lights. Screams and alarms still filled the air.

What the Hell is happening…? His eyes darted around the area, searching for whoever was responsible for this horrific scene. Nothing stuck out—

Shattering glass. Something beating against a windshield…? His eyes shot to a car parked on the side of the street when a sudden glint of light caught his attention.

It was the blade of an ax, half covered in blood, caught in the flickering of a headlight for a single moment before it came down on the windshield, shattering it. At the other end of the weapon stood the perpetrator, the madman responsible for all of this.

Batman swiftly made his way to the street below, landing in a crouching position. He rose to his feet. His narrowed eyes remained on his foe, his cape hanging over the bat symbol on his chest. "Drop the ax, Hatter…"

Jervis Tetch, known in the criminal world as the Mad Hatter, stood on top of the hood of the car he was beating the windshield of. He faltered when the command rang out for him to release his weapon. His back was to the vigilante and he was slightly hunched over the broken glass. He was taking deep intakes of air, trying to catch his breath, but he said nothing.

"…and get down off the—"

Batman drew a short breath and lunged to his right as the Mad Hatter whirled around and threw his arm forward with a quick growl. The ax that had just been in Jervis's grasp flew by, nearly burying itself deep into the vigilante's chest. He landed on the concrete and turned back around. A short gasp escaped from him as he was tackled to the ground by the villain.

He felt something sharp dig into his arms where the Hatter's hands gripped him. He took a quick breath, the air going in like a hiss, before he punched Jervis off of him. He hadn't seen any other blades on him when he had confronted him…

They were on their feet like lightning, both ready for the other to pounce. They were both silhouetted by the flashing headlights, hiding their faces in shadows. Despite the poor lighting, however, the villain's hands looked off…his fingers didn't look rounded at the end…

He didn't have much time to reflect on it, however, for the Mad Hatter had sprung back into action with a short, vicious growl. The Caped Crusader dodged the blow with a jump to the side. He turned back around and was able to get another quick peek at the assailant. Tetch's clothes were torn and tattered and his enormous top hat was nowhere to be seen. Even in the darkness the enveloped them, he could see blood spatter on his blue overcoat, even a little spotted on his face— There! His fingers did look pointed! What on Earth was going on?!

From his utility belt, he discretely pulled out a pair of handcuffs. He stood at the ready, waiting for anything, not entirely sure what to expect. "Jervis, just calm down—"

The Mad Hatter lunged at the masked man again. Batman shifted his body to the left and grabbed Tetch's right arm as he passed by. He slapped one of the pairs of cuffs around that wrist, keeping a firm grip on the enraged and barbarically persistent villain. With his hand still grasping Tetch's arm, he forcefully shoved him around to where they were facing each other. He quickly made a grab for his other wrist and successfully handcuffed him.

Batman's large hands planted themselves on the villain's shoulders in a rock-hard grip. "Jervis, calm down—"

He was cut short again when, out of the blue, Jervis collapsed against his chest. He was shaking and twitching like mad, his head bowed to where Batman could only see his incredibly messy pale hair. His forehead rested against the black and gold Bat-logo on his chest, his trembling hands just below. His shoulders rose and fell with each deep and shaky intake of air, still trying desperately to catch his breath.

Batman stared down at the sandy-haired man with uncertain eyes, his grip loosening. He could feel the Mad Hatter's shaking body even through the thick rubber of his suit.

"…help…" Jervis Tetch breathed frantically, his voice sounding strained. He cringed deeply, pressing against the vigilante and forcing him to take a step back. His quaking fingers, appearing to be rounded again, clawed at his chest involuntarily. "H-Help me…" He finally lifted his head and stared up at Batman.

The Dark Knight's eyes widened and a chill ran through his body. Good Lord…

Jervis Tetch's wide, panicked eyes locked with the vigilante's. His blue irises were spotted with red coloring. Two of his teeth had lengthened and sharpened into fangs. He stared up at him with a pleading look on his face, looking to be in incredible pain and scared out of his mind.

"Help me, please!" His teeth clenched tight and his fingers dug into the rubber suit as his eyes slammed shut and his back arched. He cringed and hunched over, his shaking intensifying and beginning to make pain-filled noises and gasps. He slipped past the vigilante and fell to the ground, onto his knees and fighting with all his might to control his body.

Batman stared down at him, wide-eyed. He blinked from his shocked state and reached into his utility belt. He grabbed his cape and brought it up over his nose and mouth. From his belt he pulled a small capsule and threw it to the ground. After a small shattering noise sounded, a light grey cloud of gas began to billow upward, engulfing both the Mad Hatter and the caped man.

With how heavily Jervis was breathing, it didn't take him long to lose consciousness. He fell to his side, still visibly trembling and cringing from time to time, but he was out.

A swift breeze cleared the cloud of smoke from the area. Batman unconsciously allowed his cape to slip from his fingers and fall back to his side. His eyes remained locked on the twitching villain on the ground, his mind still racing.

'Help me.' What had happened to Jervis Tetch…? He had never seen the British villain in the state he was in tonight… He was a plotting and stealthy criminal…not the brutish violent type he had just witnessed.

…his eyes…his teeth and hands… What the Hell was going on in Gotham City?

The Caped Crusader snapped from his thoughts and looked over toward an intersection when he heard sirens off in the distance. He pressed a button on his belt to radio his car to head to his location. If there was one thing he was certain of, it was that Jervis Tetch was much too dangerous to leave in the hands of the Gotham police.

His eyes fell back down to the Mad Hatter. Alfred is going to love this…

A/N: So, this is an idea I've had in my head for a few months now. I'm kind of returning to what I traditionally write about in my own stories, only trying it with Batman villains. I'll try to update weekly. Thanks for reading! Feedback is always welcome!