Arkham Chapter 6

[b]Thanks. Now, here's the next one. This one revolves around another of the sub-missions, and involves some unlikely teamwork.

[center]Chapter 6: Chasing Rabbits[/center][/b]

"Ugh...."

The two women awoke with a groan around the same time, shaking their heads. There was some kind of shining light at the end of this... it was a table? Yes, a long table with four rows of seats. Jessica was at one end of the table looking at the light, Azumi on her right looking across at a man in a white rabbit mask with a suit on, a blinking red light on his forehead of the mask. The soldier tried to lift her hand to touch her aching head...but couldn't move. Looking down, she could see it. black restraining cuffs holding down her hands and those of Jessica, keeping them held down on the table.

"More tea, Alice?" said the kind voice of a man at the end of the table addressing Jessica, his top hat a silhouette against the glare.

[JESSICA'S RESPONSE]("Where are we...? What's going on...?")

Azumi looked more. She could see what was on the table. Multicolored cupcakes, tea in teacups, the seven men unrestrained. Still, she understood, and sat in silence at her own stupidity.

The man was giggling now, evidently having ignored Jessica's answer to him. "What a question? Shall I tell her?" He laughed again. "Oh, she looks so con[i]fused[/i], maybe I should. Well it's simple really. I planted a tiny little [i]idea[/i] in your head. A sort of remote hypnotic suggestion." Now he seemed pedantic, though less childish in the process. "Very complicated stuff. I'm sure you can't understand, but as you can see..." He tilted his head, probably grinning. "It [i]worked...[/i] Didn't it, Alice?"

Azumi scowled, looking down at the teacup in front of her in shame. She had probably lost what little trust Jessica had. Not that she had any in response, but she was trying to be a [i]good[/i] person.

[JESSICA RESPONSE]

The man continued. "You're mine now. You're mine, and there's nothing that Strange can do about it."

Silence between them, both of the women probably thinking of ways to escape, or hoping. Apparently he at least thought Azumi worked for Strange. Not out of the question, seeing her armor. She did see her helmet in the corner, though. Unharmed, but out of reach by a long shot.

He seemed upset. "Oh, aren't you going to drink your tea?" The cup was indeed need their right hands, new enough to grasp and drink if they bent their heads. "It's [i]special[/i] tea. My [i]special tea[/i]."

He tilted his head again as his voice softened a bit. "My specialty." With that, he laughed again.

Azumi's response was simple, now that she saw the magnitude of her situation and Jessica's. Best to let them both know that she knew who the captor was. "Got to hell, Jervis."

Again he ignored her, talking to them both as a group. "Simply put... I made you see what you [i]wanted[/i] most now. Mm mmm... What was it? Tell me..." Then he laughed it out again. "Tell me." Finally, stern and angry. "Oh, [i]tell me[/i]."

"I said [i]go to hell, Mad[/i] Hatter."

A scowl from his end of the table was obvious, if invisible. "I'm not mad, I'm [i]not![/i]" He did force himself to laugh it off, though. "So predictable." Then to Jessica. "Just like Alice. Please enjoy your tea, Alice. You're never doing what I want without [i]ludicrous[/i] amounts of [i]psychoactive[/i] controls."

Both of the women rolled their eyes. What they'd taken was a sedative, after all. It had made them pass out only.

"Well, if that's what's necessary!" He jumped, up, landing on the table. He was truly a dwarf of a man, perhaps five feet tall at his height, which he was evidently [i]not[/i] at, always hunched over.

"It's a good thing you've already taken them." As they stared in horror, he walked down the table, ignoring the other "guests" who did not respond, their fate if they did not escape from here. Expert hypnotist and paranoid schizophrenic Jervis "the Mad Hatter" Tetch was in a tattered green suit complete with the top hat, grimy, messy, red hair under the hat aside from his five o'clock shadow and creepy blue eyes. He was of a lean frame, probably malnourished. He had two things in one hand, another in the other.

"All we need now are the finishing touches." He approached them, showing what he had. In his right hand, he held a white porcelain mask with blonde hair running down it and in front as bangs, a small cat ear chipped in on each side for the recipient. In the left hand was a fob watch the size of his hand and a white rabbit mask like the rest, both having the blinking mind control devices on them. Even as the two women struggled to get free, their toils were in vain as he leaned in. "Special new hats. Just. For. You." He put them on...

Oblivion took them.

===

[i]T'was black as pitch;
t'was dark as night.
A mental glitch,
and total fright.

The mask upon their brow
Showed but only one way.
[font=Curlz MT]"You are [i]my[/i] soldier now.
"You will do [i]everything[/i] we say."[/font]

The blazing lash,
the cracking bite.
Struggles through chains,
screams out to the night.

The trials greater!
A ight renewed!
Disgusting baiter;
Would meet his due![/i]

"What the hell...?" Azumi looked around as she gasped for breath, her surrounding completely unbelievable glancing to Jessica briefly before looking away in disgust. "Thanks, I... never mind."

[JESSICA REACTION AND PERHAPS PREAMBLE TO WHAT THEY ARE WITNESSING TO TAKE HER POV]

They stood atop a massive version of the Hatter's fob watch, the gears visible in the center, and the hands spinning and pointing in completely random directions.  Not only that, but it was falling, wobbling, down what appeared to be a massive vertical tunnel, dirt walls and roots visible on all sides.  Falling all around them were teacups and small plates and bowls and rabbit masks, all going in the same direction as they were.

Normally she would have asked what she was high on. But the idea was rather clear, in fact. Not only that, but, as she looked to her companion not far from her, she saw completely different horror.

The masks were not masks at all. They were all-encompassing, surrounding their entire heads, with only the glowing yellow eyes of each of them shining out. She reached to the back of her own, trying to take it off-- No luck, it was stuck until they could, if ever, escape here.

[font=Curlz MT]"No, no, no, no, no! This can't be right! You can't be doing this! [i]Alice, please![/i]"[/font]

[JESSICA REACTION TO IT.]

[FIRST ROUND OF MOOKS COME. ONE ROUND OF FIGHTING THEM WITH ALL AVAILABLE WEAPONS (NO SWORD FOR JESS)]

[FIRST HATTER APPEARANCE. WHILE AZUMI CONTINUES TO KEEP MOOKS BUSY, JESS HITS HIM WITH HER WHIP, AND SEES HER SWORD HANGING OFF OF THE ABYSS, SNAPPING OUT HER RIBBON AND DRAGGING IT IN.]

[SECOND ROUND OF MOOKS COME. THIS TIME AZUMI IS USING HER KNIFE TO DISARM PEOPLE WHILE JESS USES HER SWORD MORE.]

[SECOND HATTER APPEARANCE. THIS TIME JESS HOLDS THEM OFF WHILE AZUMI HITS HIM.]

[THIRD ROUND OF MOOKS COME. TEAMWORK BETWEEN JESS AND AZUMI, WHO MAYBE DO AN APPROXIMATION OF A LIMIT (NOT EXACT DUE TO LACK OF MAGIC ON ONE HALF OF COURSE).]

[THIRD HATTER APPEARANCE. RESUMING SOME HOSTILITY, JESS TAKES HIM FOR THE THIRD.]

[FOURTH ROUND OF MOOKS COME. BOTH FIGHTING IN UNISON, POSSIBLY "BADASS MINDS THINK ALIKE" STYLE.]

[SCARECROW STEALING AND STOMPING ON THE HAT IN THE TAKEDOWN, ENDING THE WHOLE THING. SCARECROW DREAM APPEARANCE IS LIKE SCAREBEAST WITH A NIGHTMARE FACE AND THE SAME EYES AS THE OTHERS]

===

[RETURN TO REALITY. MOOKS LITTER THE GROUND ALL OVER, ON TOP OF THE TABLE, BEHIND BROKEN CHAIRS, AGAINST WALLS, ON THE FLOOR, ON EACH OTHER.]

[AZUMI AND JESS TEAR OFF THEIR MASKS, GLARING DOWN AT THE HATTER, THEN LOOKING AT SCARECROW.]

[JESS'S THINGS IN AN ETHERSPACE POUCH AT THE BACK OF THE ROOM, AND SHE GOES TO PICK IT UP.]

[AS SHE DOES, AZUMI TALKS TO SCARECROW, WHO EXPLAINS ABOUT TETCH (HOW HE'S A SERIAL KILLER OF BLONDE "ALICES" AND DELUSIONAL) AND TAKES THE THREE TEAPOTS REMAINING OF THE MIND CONTROL TOXIN, PUTTING THEM IN ETHERSPACE AND TELLING AZUMI THAT THEY BOTH KNOW SOMEONE WHO WILL NEED IT. ALSO SAYS SHE OWES HIM, AND THIS PROVES SHE IS CORRUPTIBLE.]

[AZUMI GRUMBLES, BUT DOESN'T COMPLAIN, DECIDING TO TELL HIM OFF LATER AND TRY TO DESTROY IT. ASKS HIM NOT TO HURT JESS, SINCE THIS IS ENOUGH FOR ONE NIGHT, LET ALONG ONE FIFTEEN MINUTE PERIOD.]

[JESS COMES BACK AND ASKS WHO THIS IS.]

[SCARECROW INTRODUCES HIMSELF (OPTIONAL) AND LEAVES THROUGH THE DOOR.]

[JESS LOOKS TO AZUMI, WONDERING IF SHE'LL EXPLAIN. WHEN SHE DOESN'T SAY A WORD AND JUST PUTS HER KNIFE AWAY, SHE GRUNTS AND LEAVES VIA THE WHIP.]

[AZUMI USES HER VISR TO SEE IF THEY'RE COMING BACK OR ANYONE'S AROUND, THEN GOES INSIDE, PUTS HER HELMET ON, AND CALLS BATMAN. TELLS HIM THAT THE MAD HATTER IS HERE, BUT THERE'S SOME STRAIN IN HER VOICE. STILL, SAYS SHE HAD IT TAKEN CARE OF, AND NO, HE'S NOT DEAD.]

[i][BATMAN'S RESPONSE.][/i]

[AZUMI SAYS SHE'S OKAY, AND THAT SHE'S GOING TO GO AFTER ANYONE ELSE SHE CAN FIND. SAYS SHE JUST NEEDS A FEW MINUTES TO HERSELF.]

As she cut off the conversation, she stormed back to the door, looking down at Tetch. She spat down at him, glaring, but looked to the book on the table. [i]Alice in Wonderland[/i] by Lewis Carroll. Fitting, really. Also a good outlet for her anger.

With a scream of rage, she threw it at the far wall, hearing the binding make contact with a resounding [i]crack[/i]. Not done, she kicked a broken off chair leg, catching it and throwing it to the ground before punching the wall to her side with another scream.

She had only one word that she said as she took her breaths, calming herself down. A word as she realized why she ws doing this. It wasn't because of Jessica. Not because of Scarecrow, or even the Mad Hatter himself. No, it was just one for her.

[i]"Worthless."[/i]

[u]5 hours to Protocol 10[/u]

[b]How was this? Please review; any and all comments are welcome. We hope we've shown the Mad Hatter and his "Through the Looking Glass" side mission effectively through this adaptation.[/b]