This fic was based off fan art by dorinahv2 on Tumblr of a ghost version of Alice. It's super cool and you should check it out!
It was as if he had grown wings.
One moment he was held down, the Jabberwocky digging its claws first through his coat and then into his skin, and the next moment Jervis was standing again. The beastly statue moved as though it were lighter than a feather.
He stood up, straightening his back and locking his eyes with the bat. How silly he had been, Jervis realized. If he had just planned a bit more then he could have crushed the vermin beneath his feet. This was Gotham after all, and the flying rodent was destined to show up any time.
He stepped forward, one fist held outward and the other reaching into his coat's pocket. A good citizen of Wonderland always had an extra trick left up their sleeve after all.
Batman certainly moved through the air as if he were really his namesake creature. Though each move was sharp and practiced, every kick and punch holding his weight behind it, there was something graceful in his movements.
It was time that he finally cut the bat's wings. Jervis grinned, holding the knife high. It was sharp and thin, its silvery metal gleaming beneath the moonlight. Long that it could probably cut through the bat's chest and exit through his back, and pull out cleanly.
"I never invited you to this tea party," Jervis commented. He grinned. "But you're here all the same, so I suppose that you deserve a slice of cake. Allow me to cut it for you!"
A silent kick was all that he got in return. It was just enough time for Jervis to dodge. He clutched the knife tighter, his heart racing in his chest and echoing through his ears.
"Do be a good little bat and fly off now," Jervis commented. The two stepped dangerously close to the table, almost enough to where he bumped into it.
The bat's frown merely thickened. "I've already notified the police, Tetch. Your game is up."
"I would say that it has just begun." He smiled wider, a grin that even the Cheshire Cat would have been proud of. "And of what concern should those rats be to me?"
"I've also sent word to a certain man," the bat replied, throwing another punch that again never quite reached Jervis, "a Billy. I believe that you and your 'guest' might know of him."
His face went pale, and his eyes quickly turned back to the table as if he had expected Alice to have vanished then and there. "You aren't taking her!"
He struck violently, each movement faster than the last. He panted, each movement taking energy Jervis did not have, yet he kept slicing forward none the less. The bat's mouth opened wide, perhaps his eyes as well – everything was a blur of color, black and blue and red (so much red).
It was with a sudden kick, one that sent him flying to the air and toppling to the ground with a crash and sending a whole row of cards down with him, that Batman managed to get the knife out of the hatter's hands. It flew through the air only a few feet before landing with a clang.
"You can't have her! She's mine! She's mine!" Turning back, Jervis rushed through the maze. "I won't let him take her from me either! She's mine! She's mine!" Every word scratched at his dry throat.
The ax glowed in the moonlight, shined to a perfection and looking sharp enough to cut through anything. The pole fit so easily in his hands and it was incredibly light, easy enough to swing with his hands. His grin returned and he turned back.
"I'm not going to let you take her," Jervis said. "Not now, not ever."
If it's a game he wants, Jervis thought, then it's a game that he will get. He held the ax higher.
"...and all the players, except the King, the Queen, and Alice, were in custody and under sentence of execution."
The bat moved through the night as if he were made of the darkness itself. Jervis moved quickly, just barely dodging another kick. The longer it went on the more and more his legs ached and arms shook.
There was only one chance, one perfect strike now that the bat had lost his footing, fallen to the ground. Jervis raised the ax and took one long cut.
It was only when Batman moved again, the ax reaching his chest rather than his neck, that the lights appeared. They were a flurry of red and blue, accompanied by a harsh cry that made his ears ring.
"No." The ax toppled from his hands and onto the ground below. He turned and ran back across the maze, rushing over fallen cards and heading back towards the tea table. Even after all the running earlier, he still found enough strength to move on forward.
Just as he was about to turn the corner, he saw the knife on the ground. It was almost completely red, save for a few bits of clean that shone pure white.
Those dear cards, Jervis thought. Did they really try painting the roses with this?
It fell into his pocket easily. The moment it was back in place, he continued forward. Bats were resilient creatures.
His heart slowed when he saw her again, still sitting there as before, eyes locked straight ahead.
"So sorry for the rush my dear," he said. He grabbed her hand and she dutifully stood. "I suppose that we will have to take tea another time."
Now all they needed was a nice rabbit hole to fall and disappear into.
The maze of cards, this little slice of Wonderland hidden inside of Gotham, had been etched into his heart and mapped into his mind. The two rushed through the maze as easily as one walking down a beaten path. While the lights still blared and the sirens cried on, the two continued forward.
"I hardly expected the night to end this way, darling." He shrugged as the two moved past a corner. "But I suppose the only thing to expect was to expect nothing at all."
Perhaps he should have turned another corner.
Jervis froze, Alice following behind him.
No, no, no! Stuff and nonsense! This was worse than a Jabberwocky, far more terrifying than any of the red queen's temper tantrums or any of her executioner's sharp axes.
"Alice?" Billy's eyes widened. When he got no reply, his eyebrows lowered. "What the hell did you do to her?"
Jervis clutched her hand tighter.
The shadow appeared suddenly, blocking any light. Quickly, Jervis moved to the side, Alice following behind. He placed a hand out and moved in front of her, blocking her chest with his back.
The bat landed without making a sound. As torn as his cape was, as bruised as his chest, as sliced as his wings he still moved on.
"It's time to give up, Jervis." His voice was throatier now, faster and sharper. "Whatever sick game you were trying to play, you've lost it."
He reached for his pocket. If the two could just get a bit further ahead...
It was not the bat who struck next. The fist came fast, moving so fast that Jervis barely had time to register it before he heard a heavy crack.
"Let go of her, you freak!"
Jervis shoved his knife forward but it was only met with air. He bit his lip, the taste of blood sharp against his tongue.
His vision spun, the bat in one corner of his eyes and the boorish boy in the other. Blue and red lights swirled, mixing together into a deep purple shade that tinted everything he saw.
"No." His face hardened. "No, no, no, no!"
Jervis turned back towards her. They were going to take her back, his precious Alice, force her back into her boring little life, suck out the only joy she had ever had. His only joy.
He met eyes with her. The jury had spoken before, had they not? He had spoken against Alice in court, watched the red queen and beastly jury decide her fate.
It was time to carry out her sentence.