Nightmare

   An ache in his shoulders...a throbbing pain in his head...a pressure against the right side of his body...darkness. Blue eyes slowly began to flutter open as Jervis Tetch started to come to, emerging from an unexpected loss of consciousness. He drew a breath and held it for a moment as his eyes closed again. He released the breath when he tried to bring his arms forward, only to find his wrists were tied together behind his back. His fingers went over what was binding his wrists, expecting to feel metal.

   His eyes sluggishly opened again when he felt a twisted rope tied around his wrists. His vision was still far too blurred to make any sense of the blobs of grey that he saw, but that didn't stop his eyes from wandering. He tried to focus his aching and disoriented head to no avail. He felt something pressing against his forehead, the same thing pressing against the right side of his body. He realized he was lying on his side.

   A quick bounce sent a stinging pain through his shoulders. He drew a hissing breath in, his eyes shutting tight for the moment. He was lying across the backseat of a moving car, from what he could gather.

   Jervis twisted his head and opened his eyes to look for the front of the vehicle. The streetlights passing in front of the windshield nearly blinded him, sending waves of pain into his brain. He turned his head away from the light for a moment, trying to give his eyes a chance to adjust. His blue eyes locked on what looked like blood where his forehead had been resting. Was he bleeding? He had no idea...

   He looked back up toward the front of the car. His eyes attempted to focus on the driver.

   The man behind the wheel was dressed in tones of orange and brown. Jervis was only able to see the brown-sleeved arms that ended with open-finger gloved hands on the steering wheel. The collar of the trench coat was popped, hiding the base of the man's hairline. A large hat sat atop the man's head, looking like one that would adorn a...a Scarecrow.

   "...J...Jona...than?" Jervis mumbled incoherently, his breath short. A sudden heaviness in his skull made him press his forehead back to the seat cushion. He scrunched his eyes shut again. He became vaguely aware that a piece of fabric had been tied across his forehead. He tried to ask what was going on, but his words were so garbled and slurred that all that came out was fragmented phrases.

   "Jervis," came a voice he recognized as Jonathan Crane's at the front of the car, "I need you to stay calm, alright?"

   'Stay calm?' Jervis repeated in thought, his brow furrowing slightly at the words. He opened his eyes again and tried to focus on his friend. "Wha...what's goin...?"

   He came to quick halt when Crane turned in the driver's seat and glanced back at Jervis. Jonathan Crane was dressed in his Scarecrow costume, minus his mask, and had an unfamiliar expression of concern on his face.

   Jervis didn't see it, though. Jervis didn't see Jonathan Crane at all.

   Crane faced forward again when he saw Jervis's eyes shoot wide with terror. Jonathan's hands tightened around the steering wheel, his eyes locked on the road flying beneath the car. He could hear Jervis in the backseat, trying to wrestle against his restraints and thrashing about, kicking his legs and the back of the driver's seat. He tried his best to ignore the screams and cries from his friend, the same kinds of sounds that were normally music to his ears, with little success. He didn't dare look in the rearview mirror back at Jervis, writhing and whimpering at whatever unseen horrors he was experiencing.

   No, Jonathan had to focus on eluding the Batman and the cops, all while speeding back toward his abode with his hallucinating friend in the back seat, to get him the antidote to his fear toxin...

.................................................................................................................

   The heist had been going off without a hitch. He and Jervis had been planning the caper for the past few weeks, down to the last minute detail. Jervis, in disguise, had gotten into the building maybe an hour prior to Crane's arrival to slip a mind control chip behind the ear of an unsuspecting security guard. He had waited in the lobby, inconspicuously reading a newspaper until Jonathan Crane entered the building, a large briefcase in hand.

   Jervis felt himself grin as the security guard stepped forward to approach Crane. The blonde man pulled on the bill of his ball cap and lifted himself from the seat. He headed toward the elevator at the end of the lobby.

   Jonathan met the guard with unfazed eyes, his grip on the case never lessening. His dark eyes shifted to the card behind his ear before he returned them to the guard's. He stood his ground as the security officer came to a stop in front of him.

   "'How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail, and pour the waters of the Nile on every golden scale,'" the guard said in monotone, his eyes suddenly looking quite vacant.

   Jonathan felt himself make a face and peeked around the uniformed man when he heard quiet giggles coming from the blonde man waiting for the elevator. He rolled his eyes as the guard continued his Carroll spiel and stepped toward the closed elevator doors. The shorter man in the ball cap pressed the button. As he took a step back, Jonathan came to a stop next to him.

   "And how are we on this frabjous evening?" Jervis asked in a low voice without moving his head.

   Jonathan glanced down at the Mad Hatter from the corners of his eyes. The ball cap hid most of the Englishman's face, but he could tell the man was grinning. "Your puppet already deactivated the camera in here?" he asked as the elevator doors opened.

   "But of course," Jervis replied. The two stepped into the elevator. As soon as the doors were shut, Crane opened the briefcase. Inside was the rest of their criminal attire; they were both already dressed partially in their costumes. Jervis pulled out his waist coat and swiftly began to latch the buttons as Jonathan slipped out of his suit jacket. The taller man threw on his overcoat and began rolling up the bottoms of his pants to reveal his high-cut boots. Jervis was using the reflection off of the elevator doors to straighten his oversized bowtie as Crane pulled on his open-fingered gloves. The blonde man retrieved his blue overcoat from the briefcase and carefully put it on, pulling out his white gloves before buttoning the coat. Crane reached into his trench coat and pulled the hangman's noose that resided in an interior pocket. As he placed it around his neck, Jervis took off the ball cap. He carefully removed the red band of technology and pulled his top hat from the briefcase. As he fixed the piece of technology into the inside of his oversized top hat, Jonathan pulled on his burlap mask. The two criminals placed their hats atop their heads nearly at the same time, and their costumes were complete. This was all done in a little over half a minute as the elevator continued toward their destination.

   "My, we both look frabjous," Jervis said with a lighthearted laugh as he reached into his overcoat's pockets where numerous of his mind control cards sat.

   Jonathan remained silent as he readied the fear gas canisters on his arms. He stared out beyond the burlap at his reflection in the elevator doors. His eyes strayed over to Jervis, who was rocking back and forth on his feet, his hands pocketed and looking just as merry as could be. He rolled his eyes and glanced up at which floor they had just passed. They would be arriving to their floor in maybe ten seconds.

   "Make sure you stay clear of my toxins," Jonathan warned again, finally turning and looking directly at the Hatter.

   Jervis's rocking faltered as his grin vanished. He gazed up at Jonathan with eyes that could easily be perceived as coated in madness. "'Oh, don't talk about trouble,'" Jervis responded casually with a slight huff. He looked to his reflection and straightened his bowtie again as he continued. "'I make you a present of everything I've said as yet.'"

   It was probably a good thing that Jonathan was wearing a mask, or else Jervis would have seen the look on the Scarecrow's face.

   Their conversation was cut short as a series of dings sounded overhead. The two looked at the floor number. Jervis's grin instantly reappeared. He shot Crane a devious look. "Showtime."

   The heist had been going off without a hitch. The Mad Hatter nimbly slipped a mind control card behind the ears of four employees while the Scarecrow gave him instructions and took care of the other two employees. Even without using his toxins, they looked scared out of their minds. Crane smirked behind his mask and basked in their fear, loving every minute of it. Jervis stared observantly at the people under his control, willing them to do his bidding with a single thought.

   The sound of breaking glass made the Mad Hatter jump and the Scarecrow's eyes shoot to the source of the sound. The two villains stared on as the accursed Caped Crusader lifted from his crouching position, shards of broken glass sliding down his cape and hitting the tiled floor.

   Jervis quickly regained his composure and turned to fully face the Batman, his angry eyes locked on the vigilante and a wide grin on his face. "'And as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, came whiffling through the tulgey wood, and burbled as it came!'" Halfway through the rhyme, the workers under his control had dropped what they were doing and turned as one to attack the Dark Knight.

   As Jervis tried to preoccupy the vigilante, the Scarecrow whirled back around when he heard one of the employees try to make a run for it. Crane grit his teeth and shot his arm forward, releasing a cloud of gas at the fleeing man's face.

   The man drew a startled breath and began coughing, inadvertently breathing in more and more gas with each strained breath. As the cloud started to dissipate, the man crumbled to the ground, shaking tremendously and taking fearful breaths. A look of horror was plastered to his face.

   The Scarecrow swiftly turned to the female worker on the ground, who gasped. "If you don't want to end up like your friend here, you'll stay seated," he hissed, standing over her in a threatening stance.

   A sudden clatter of metal on the tile floor made both the villain and the hostage turn in unison. Their eyes fell to a stray batarang on the ground before they lifted to the battle underway. Batman had managed to relieve the workers of the mind control cards without doing a great deal of damage to them. Jervis turned and shot Jonathan a panicked look before he turned and faced the Dark Knight again.

   Crane turned again to see the woman scrambling to her feet. A gloved hand dashed out and his narrow fingers wrapped around her wrist. She let out a startled cry when she was jerked backward to face the costumed villain. She stared up at the expressionless face of the Scarecrow staring down at her.

   "I warned you," he spat. He ignored the pathetic pleas from the woman and shot the fear gas directly into her face. He allowed her to drop like deadweight to the floor--

   A sharp call from his partner made Jonathan look up. He took a startled step back as Jervis hit the ground, letting out another yelp as he collided. He slid a few feet across the tiled floor and came to a stop--

   --inside the cloud of fear gas.

   A wave of dread and horror coursed through Jonathan Crane as the Mad Hatter went into a coughing fit. He stared down at him with panicked eyes, his breath caught in his throat. 'Oh no...no, no, no...'

   Crane finally regained his senses and dragged Jervis from the cloud of his toxins. His eyes scanned the blonde man briefly before they turned to stare at the Dark Knight, who was stepping toward him.

   Jonathan felt angry eyebrows fall over his eyes as a raspy voice sounded in his head, the words all mixed together. A cold feeling washed over him, calm fury rushing through his veins and another entity taking over. He watched as the Scarecrow reached down and grabbed the shaking woman and yanked her to her feet with a terrified sob. A long arm wrapped around her neck and held her against his thin body, making the vigilante come to a stop.

   "Don't do anything stupid, Crane," the Batman warned.

   "'Ring around the rosy...'" Jonathan heard himself rasp, the nursery rhyme rolling smoothly off his tongue. His free hand shot out and grabbed the back of a metal fold-out chair. He dragged the woman and the chair across the tiled floor. "'Pocket full of posies...'" The metal chair went flying at a large window, crashing through in a rain of glass. The cool night's breeze wafted into the room, rustling his outfit. The Scarecrow turned his back to the window and glared at the vigilante, the woman in his grasp squirming to get away and whimpering. "'Ashes to ashes...'"

   Batman's eyes slightly widened. "Crane, don't you dare--"

   "'We all fall down.'" The Scarecrow hurled the woman out of the broken window.

   Jonathan Crane started to dash toward where Jervis was lying as Batman sprinted at the broken window. As the Caped Crusader was in mid-dive, he shot a rope at the villain's legs. With that, he disappeared out the window and into the night to save the falling woman.

   The line wrapped around Jonathan's legs, causing him to hit the ground with a thud. He breathed a soft curse, quickly shaking the disoriented feeling from his head. He reached into his overcoat and pulled out a pocket knife. He nimbly flipped open the blade and began cutting through the rope tangled around his legs. The knife easily sliced through the vigilante's cord and he scrambled to his feet. His eyes focused past the burlap and on his friend as he ran to him.

   Crane knelt down next to Jervis's trembling form and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Jervis?" he asked apprehensively.

   The Mad Hatter flinched at the touch on his shoulder and he slowly looked up. His frightened blue eyes locked on Jonathan for a single moment before he let out a fearful squeak and slammed his eyes shut, turning his head away as his trembling intensified.

   A quiet string of obscenities left Jonathan's mouth. He ripped off his burlap mask and shoved it into his pocket, all the while looking around the room. He finally glanced back down at his partner. "Jervis, can you walk?" When there was no response from his English friend, another curse escaped from him. Jervis was practically paralyzed with fear.

   "Alright, get up," Jonathan ordered as he hoisted the reluctant blonde to his feet. He virtually dragged the Englishman toward the staircase. He glanced over the railing at the endless cascade of stairs and took a readying breath. After tightening his hold on Jervis, Jonathan began to descend the flight of steps. The only sounds in the stairwell were Jonathan's boots hitting each stair and the incoherent mumblings of the Mad Hatter. 'At least he isn't screaming,' Jonathan thought to himself. He glanced over at the blonde man.

   Jervis's head was bowed and his eyes were shut tight. There was an unmistakable look of fear written across his gentle features. His trembling never stopped; he was shaking more than he was trying to walk. He continued to mumble in a low voice, the words lost to Jonathan.

   'He's probably experiencing auditory hallucinations,' Jonathan contemplated, returning his eyes to the stairs before him. He kept his mouth shut, determined not to make this bad situation worse. He knew he had to get the antidote into Jervis's bloodstream as quick as possible. It wasn't that the effects of the fear toxin were permanent, but he had no information about the effects of his gas on the mentally ill. Jonathan knew that Jervis did experience hallucinations, but they were never drug-induced. He had no idea what to expect of his insane blonde friend in this state.

   They finally reached the bottom of the staircase and were soon standing before an emergency exit. Jonathan opened the door only a crack and checked to see if the coast was clear. After a close examination, he shoved the door fully open and stepped into the alley between the two buildings.

   Jervis's eyes shot open when he felt the cool night air hit his face. His breathing hitched for the moment as he went rigid. His head whipped up suddenly, the random movement from his otherwise limp ally startling Crane and catching him completely off guard.

   "Nngh!" Jervis shouted, his arms flailing. He broke away from Jonathan's grasp and took a few frantic steps away from the costumed villain. He turned and stared at the Scarecrow, his terrified eyes scanning every inch of him. "'Too far! Too far!' and gave a look askance!" he blurted out in a harsh shout, his trembling intensifying and his chest heaving. "--the Duchess said to Alice, flinging the baby at her as she-- 'she made some tarts, all on a summer day!'"

   Jonathan stared at the man with wide eyes, hardly understanding a word Jervis had yelled. He cautiously lifted his hands in a motion to show he was harmless. "Jervis, you need to calm down," he said carefully.

   Jervis made another startled sound and jumped back, bringing an arm up defensively. His terrified blue eyes locked on Crane and he took a few rapid breaths. "'-- h-he went galumphing back!'" he shrieked before he turned and took off at a sprint away from Crane.

   "Jervis!" Jonathan called out. He quickly followed suit, chasing after the hallucinating madman. There was no way he could allow Jervis to roam the streets in his condition...for his own safety. He could care less of the filthy vermin known as the citizens of Gotham City.

   "Jervis, stop!" Crane yelled again, somehow knowing his shouts would be useless.

   The Mad Hatter continued to run, his frenzied eyes darting about. The call went unheard.

   The sounds of their rapid footsteps bounced off of the walls of the two buildings. Jonathan's trench coat billowed behind him as he took long strides to catch up with the Hatter. Over their steps came the sporadic shouting of fragmented Carroll quotes, lines of dialogue and poetry mixing together. They raced toward the opening at the end of the alley, toward where the streets of Gotham resided.

   Jervis burst out of the alley and continued to run. He drew a startled and frightened gulp of air when he saw the tall buildings lurking dangerously over him. His terrified eyes remained skyward, darting to each building that encircled him, closing in… He slowed to a stop as blue orbs locked on the building he and Jonathan had just exited, taking rapid and shallow breaths--

   The blaring of a car horn made him nearly jump out of his skin. He let out a shriek and whirled around to face the oncoming automobile.

   Crane emerged from between the two buildings and found Jervis standing in the middle of the road, doused in the lights of a vehicle's high beams. "Jervis!" Jonathan yelled over the sound of screeching tires. He sprinted at the paralyzed blonde, racing toward the road. He lunged forward and tackled the Mad Hatter out of the car's path, the latter letting out a startled gasp.

   The two hit the pavement hard, a forceful breath escaping from both of them. Jonathan shook off the lightheaded feeling when he heard Jervis groan beneath him. Crane lifted himself off of the blonde man and maneuvered himself to kneel by his friend. His eyes widened and he breathed a curse when he saw a cut across Jervis's forehead, signifying a blow to the head. He immediately forced the Hatter's eyes opened and looked at his pupils to check for signs of a concussion. They were a little larger than normal, but they didn't look too bad--

   Jervis's eyes slowly focused on the pair of dark eyes staring back at him. Fear seized him again and he tried to lift himself. Before he was able to do so, however, Jonathan jumped back on top of him in an attempt to pin him down. The blonde man began wriggling and squirming like mad to get away, all the while making shouts of protest and fright.

   Jonathan managed to keep his hallucinating friend pinned to the ground while he removed the hangman's noose from around his neck. He was trying to bind Jervis's hands when he heard the sound of approaching tires rolling across the road.

   The car that had nearly run down the Mad Hatter came to a stop and the driver jumped out of his front seat. "Oh man, are you guys alright?!" he yelled in a panicked voice as he ran over to the two villains. "D-Do I need to call 911 or something?!"

   The Scarecrow turned and shot the man a death glare over his shoulder. His free arm shot forward, gas shooting up at the man's face. The man gasped and started to violently cough. As Jonathan returned his attention to his struggling partner, the man took a startled step back, a frightened noise escaping him. He turned and went screaming into the night.

   Jervis let out another yell when Jonathan securely bound his wrists behind his back. Jonathan breathed a soft sigh and slid off of the Hatter's body. He glanced over his shoulder at the abandoned car in the middle of the road, the engine still running. His partially gloved hands reached down and grabbed Jervis's coat. He tried to ignore the terrified cries from Jervis as he dragged his struggling form toward the vehicle. He threw open the back door and stuffed the blonde into the back seat before jumping into the driver's seat. He slammed the door shut and threw the gear into drive. He gunned off toward his hideout.

   Jonathan's eyes remained alert for signs of the Caped Crusader or any of the Gotham City Police Department officers that could be on the streets. His body jerked forward when Jervis kicked the back of his seat. An irritated scowl briefly flashed across Crane's face before he glanced up into the rearview mirror. His eyes locked on the blood running from the cut on Jervis's forehead for a moment.

   "--his scaly friend replied. 'There is another shore, you know, upon the--' the day was done--'It's very rude of him,' she said, 'to come and spoil the fun!'" The Carroll quotes were mashed together into nonsense, being shouted from Jervis, who continued to fight against the rope binding his arms and kick his legs. "The King looked anxiously at the White Rabbit, who said in a-'A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, along the briny beach!'"

   Jonathan's eyes lifted from the road to the mirror again when Jervis's voice softened. "Pleasant...pleasant Pleasance... 'There goes Bill!'" The man in the driver's seat noticed that the blonde's struggling was beginning to diminish. "'One, two! One, two! And through and through...the'--the Walrus said: 'I deeply sympathize.' With sobs and tears he sorted out those of the largest size..."

   The Scarecrow felt his body jerk forward just slightly when the Hatter nudged the back of his seat again. He kept his eyes locked on the road and his senses sharp. He noted that Jervis's jabber had become mumblings again, sparse and quiet in between shaky breaths. When the mumbling stopped altogether and the car filled with silence, he arched a curious eyebrow. His eyes lifted to the rearview mirror again.

   Jonathan's breath hitched when he found himself staring at Jervis's unconscious form. He let another loud curse fall from his lips as he swerved the car toward the side of the road. The vehicle screeched to a halt and the gear was thrown into park. The car door flew open and Jonathan's lanky form jumped out. He ripped the back door open and studied the Hatter's limp form, his wide eyes darting from feature to feature. "Jervis?!" he shouted frantically.

   When no response came, Jonathan pressed two fingers to the blonde's neck, checking for a pulse. Sure enough, there was a steady thumping beneath his digits, relieving him immensely. A heavy sigh escaped from his body before his eyes shifted to the open and bleeding wound on Jervis's forehead. He knew he had to stop the bleeding, or at least slow it until he got to his hideout, where he could properly dress the cut. With nothing else to use to serve as a bandage, Jonathan's hands began undoing the large bowtie below Jervis's chin.

   The Mad Hatter's eyes began to flutter open, half aware of the fact that his bowtie was being removed. His disoriented eyes fell upon Jonathan, who was practically crouching over top of him in the cramped back seat of the vehicle. Jervis drew a frightened breath at the sight and began to try to scoot away.

   Jonathan quickly inspected the loose bowtie before locking eyes with Jervis, who went rigid. As he brought the fabric forward, the Hatter let out a startled noise and his efforts to get away from Crane intensified, kicking his legs across the back seat.

   "Jervis, hold still--" Jonathan's breath was forced from his body when Jervis swiftly kicked him in the stomach. He doubled over and coughed, bringing a hand to his gut. His eyes lifted to the blonde and he shot him an enraged look, making the Hatter freeze.

   Taking advantage of the brief paralysis, Jonathan lurched forward with a determined growl, the fabric taut between his two hands. A shriek escaped from the Mad Hatter at the movement, his eyes widening for a moment before shutting tight. As Jonathan pressed the bowtie against his forehead, Jervis began screaming and shouting, shaking his head violently left to right. His body twisted across the seat and he began struggling against the restraints upon his wrists again.

   Jonathan somehow managed to get the fabric secured across Jervis's wound and tied around the back of his head, keeping the make-shift bandage in place. He backed off immediately after, giving the terrified man his space. Another sigh escaped from him when Jervis brought his knees up toward his chest, lying on his side with his forehead pressed against the seat, his eyes still scrunched tightly shut and whimpering softly. Jonathan shut the back door, making the Hatter wince at the loud noise, and slinked back into the driver's seat. As he pulled back onto the road to continue toward the hideout, he tried to focus on driving, not on Jervis's voice coming from the back seat.

   "'The magic words shall hold thee fast: thou shalt not heed the raving blast...'" Jervis whispered in a quivering voice, pausing after every so many words to take a shaky breath. "'Suppose we change the subject,' the March Hare interrupted, yawning..." The end of the quote became garbled and slurred as his hold on consciousness began to slip. His eyelids fluttered open for a single moment before they fell shut again and he was tossed back into the darkness of oblivion.