The Eight - An Assassin's Cup Of Tea

Verthaven's forest was located just East of Gotham. It was a Tuesday night and extremely dark. Deathstroke was walking through the wood, feeling a tad wary and as a result, couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. The rain was heavy and although not much of it penetrated the forest itself, it could be heard beating upon the leaves of the trees.

Deathstroke was a world renowned assassin and an expert marksman, swordsman and the world's most elite hand-to-hand combatant. He wore a trademark lightweight body armour, that catered to his expert agility. He had his trustworthy twin katanas strapped in their sheathes upon his back whilst his hands rested on the desert eagles handguns he carried on his hips.

Deathstroke continued down the 'pathway' that had been laid out in the forest. He didn't know where he was going or who it was that invited him, but he accepted the offer, confident he could handle whatever any villain or hero of Gotham would throw at him. As he followed the path, as cautiously as possible, he found himself approaching a large oak table that had been set out in the middle of the wood. He scanned the table and was shocked to see a group of people all wearing various bizarre and grotesque masks sat silently with small china tea cups set out in front of them. In the very centre of the table Deathstroke could see a man with a small frame sat cross-legged whilst talking to someone named Alice.

As he approached the table, he realised why he was there and who it was that had invited him. He was there to play a game - with a psychotic madman who he rarely had run-ins with. The invitation however, looked like it came from Roman Sionis so naturally, Deathstroke had accepted. He decided to play along with the game so he walked over to the only empty chair, that had obviously been left vacant to accomodate him. He sat down with a sigh. As he exhaled, he examined the back of the man. His attention immediately turned to the large exquisite top hat that he bore. Matter-of-factly, Deathstroke knew that his host was very fond of wild headgear and would not be seen without sporting one.

Finally, after examining the people sat around the table, Deathstroke decided to make conversation with the little man.

"Is that a new hat Jervis?" Deathstroke said sarcastically.

The little man stood up and turned around to face the assassin, his face the definition of anger.

"I WAS SPEAKING TO ALIC-" his expression turned from angry to delighted in a second, "SLADE WILSON! YOU CAME!" he exclaimed, clapping and dancing on the tabletop.

Deathstroke waved a dismissive hand before returning it to a knife strapped to his thigh, hidden by the table - he knew Jervis Tetch all too well. He knew that Tetch was a very dangerous man and despite being insane, he was unpredictable and not to be handled with lightly. "Of course I came! You forged your invitation to look like Roman's. I'm impressed Hatter. But please, tell me why you've dragged me here."

The little man smiled, in gratitude to the praise he just received.

The man was indeed Jervis Tetch, a criminal mastermind with a genius-level intellect and surprising levels of strength and agility. He had an unhealthy obsession with Lewis Carroll's book: Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and its sequel, Through The Looking Glass. He had been diagnosed a schizophrenic psychopath, which is why Deathstroke avoided him. Despite having almost no fear, going head-to-head with someone like Tetch was a death sentence. Something Tetch had avoided several times in the past due to 'reason of insanity'. Jervis Tetch had been known to often falsley differentiate fantasy with reality and often 'spoke' to Alice and even kidnapped young girls to have tea with. He was never seen without a hat due to modelling himself as the character: The Mad Hatter.

"Well Slade, I have a job offer for you!"

"And what exactly is this offer Jervis?" Deathstroke asked impatiently, drumming his fingers on the tabletop.

"Well..." The Mad Hatter rubbed his gloved hands together and tipped his hat. "The Batman, what do you want with him?"