Here is next chapter, I'm afraid that the next chapter is not yet written as I have been quite busy and will be over the next couple of week so I will apologise in advance if the next chapter is posted late.

Disclaimer;

The Batman cartoon series and all its related content belongs to WB studios, I do not own anything.

The drive to the batcave had been uneventful, the Joker barely moving as they travelled quickly though the streets. Sunrise was less then an hour away by the time the batmobile entered the entrance tunnel and Bruce was thankful at least he had avoided being seen during the day, the last thing he needed was a pursuit with the few police left on the streets.

It didn't take long to arrive at the batcave and as the lights hummed to life illuminating the walkway to the parking area, Bruce could see a dark clad figure waiting for his arrival.

Alfred had received the message and had acted promptly as always, discarding his usual butler attire in favour of black slacks and a polo necked jumper, a dark mask not unlike Bruce's cowl covered his head, hiding his features completely. In the event of an outsider being brought into the Batcave itself Bruce would have had Alfred restricted to the mansion above for his own safety as well as to keep his identity secret but this case was different. Alfred with his vast knowledge and expertise were essential to keep their unusual guest stable.

The butler stepped backwards slightly as the batmobile rolled to a halt and powered down with a low rumble, watching as Bruce leapt from the cock pit and stood before him,his face impassive.

"Did you review my reports?"

Alfred nodded slightly as he peered over Bruce's shoulder, no doubt to catch a glimpse of the new arrival.

"Indeed sir I am now fully informed of the situation of Arkham and Clayface although I'm still unsure of this situation, if..."

Bruce interjected quickly, moving to the passenger side of the car and undoing the restraints which held the unconscious Joker.

"You know that if there was anywhere else I could have taken him I would have, we have to make the best of the situation, the safety precautions are fool proof if followed closely"

He picked the clown up, looking to Alfred briefly who offered merely a slightly arched eyebrow and a brief nod of his head before he moved away silently, leading the way to the sick bay situated in the lower levels.

The sick bay was Alfred's pride and joy, he had had a lot of influence on it's design and Bruce had built and acquired all of what the ex field medic had suggested, knowing that the man had years of experience in the medical field that far surpassed his own. Both the equipment and Alfred's expertise had already been invaluable many times in the past and was much needed now as Bruce lay the Joker down gently on the bed, stepping back as Alfred immediately starting examining the clown, his eyes narrowed as he probed at the man's head wound before moving down his body, pausing over certain areas and frowning.

Bruce busied himself in restraining the clown again, using the heavy duty straps attached to the frame of the bed to restrain the man's legs and waist before moving to do the same with his wrists before he paused, feeling rather the seeing the disapproving look he was being given.

Is that quite necessary Sir? Judging by the head trauma this man has received I doubt he is capable of springing into action any time soon and if you wish for me to treat him I will need access to his injuries and these restraints.."

"Are necessary, especially with someone like Joker, I've seen him receive severe injuries and acts as though he doesn't even feel them and still manages to be a handful"

Alfred had already lowered his head to examine the clown's broken collar bone, expert fingers gently palpating the area.

"You of course know him better then I Sir, I am merely suggesting that his upper body be left unrestrained for now until my assessment is finished"

Bruce frowned under his cowl, he felt an odd sense of embarrassment from the old butlers words, Alfred was of course only applying logic to the strange situation they now found themselves in but only Bruce knew the mad man laying on the bed before him, he had seen first hand what happened to people who underestimated the Joker, who thought he was too injured or incapacitated to be a threat. He greatly respected Alfred and his opinions and as he watched the man expertly examining an injury on the still form on the bed he knew he would have to go against his instincts and follow the advice of his friend and mentor.

Bruce released his hold on the straps of the restraints and stepped backwards to allow Alfred to carry on his work.

Feeling useless in the presence of such an expert he moved over to a small terminal that was connected to the batwave above. Swiftly he broke into Arkham's patient files, pulling Joker's record and accessing his medical data. Behind him Alfred had fetched a diagnostic tool that Bruce had developed using Wayne enterprise, it wasn't yet ready for public use but he had personally worked out all the bugs on this model and Alfred was rarely seen without it in a medical emergency.

"Sir"

Bruce ran worried eyes over the information on screen before moving to Alfred, standing opposite the man as he moved the device over Joker's body. One of the tools main functions allowed the user to get live stream x rays of the patient which Alfred was using now, focusing the device over the clown's bloodied head.

"See here? A linear fracture at the temple, the clear fluid you can see from his ears and nose is a sign that there is a tear in the membrane surrounding the brain, how far did he get before you found him?"

"From Arkham to the docks, found him in an unused warehouse although he hadn't been there long"

Alfred frowned again as he looked back to the device "It's amazing he managed to get out of Arkham at all never mind to travel all that way with this injury alone"

he moved the scanner down

"He's got a broken collarbone and here two fractured ribs with a third broken although thankfully it's not moved inwards towards the lungs, if you listen carefully you can hear crepitus"

Bruce could indeed hear it, the slight sounds of the ribs moving against each other audible in the quiet sick bay. Alfred set the device down gently next to the unconscious clown.

"Some internal bruising, scrapes and cuts and his heart rate as well as breathing seem slightly elevated. Most of the bleeding came from the arm and I'm afraid I don't need the scanner to see the damage to the bone"

He cut carefully though the tourniquet Bruce had applied and moved the Joker's ragged sleeve all the way up and Bruce couldn't help but cringe in horror as the damage was revealed. Both bones of the man's lower arm jutted grotesquely from the skin.

"My god"

"A compound break of the radius and ulna as you can see and it appears he's twisted the bone after the trauma was done, worsening the injury, this will be quite a lot of work I'm afraid, we can start with broad spectrum antibiotics, a tetanus shot, analgesics, anaesthetic and a blood transfusion would not go amiss"

Bruce pulled his gaze away from the injured man and looked back over at the monitor still displaying Joker's information.

"Most of that will be fine but the analgesics as well as any sedatives we may need later will be difficult, it seems our patient is immune to most of what they have stocked at Arkham"

Alfred was already rolling up his sleeves as he moved to the sink, a faint smile reflected in his eyes

"It never is that easy is it Sir?"

Writing dialogue is still quite a chore for me and the conversations between Alfred and Bruce sound a little off as they cannot interact with each other as they normally would in this situation.