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.

"Where are we...?" Jessica seemed drowsy, but quickly came to, both terrified and irritated. "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.

"My name is Jessica, you creep," the neko spat.

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."

"No problem." Maybe she was getting over her mostly irrational hatred?

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]

"Shut up! I'm not your damned Alice!" As she shouted that, they appeared, the gangsters with their masks... except they weren't masks. They covered their entire heads, and the lights were gone. Two came at her, but she snapped a Ribbon out at one of them, knocking him off guard, then fired a Bolt at the other, knocking him back. She followed these up by drawing one of her Caltrop bombs, throwing it on the ground and tripping them up. Why Tetch hadn't disarmed them was beyo--oh, she didn't have her sword. Well there was that.

Still, she held out her hand, a ball of white fire appearing in it. "Ball Lightning!" She threw the grenade, the explosion taking out the two of them, who disappeared into smoke again.

Azumi, meanwhile, took a more nonlethal approach to her two. As they both swung, she grabbed one, slipping her leg behind him, and threw him at the other. She followed this up with a punch to the face while he was grounded, taking the other with a slam to the ground that was followed up with her knee forcing itself against the back of his arm.... [i]snap[/i]. Another two disappeared.

There was a beam of purple light that appeared in one side of the arena, and they saw him. The Hatter, jumping from one foot to the other, grinning, his voice no longer odd as it was. "It will all be over soon..."

"He's mine!" Jess shouted, and, while Azumi held off three more of his goons, she charged forward, lashing out with her whip at him. While he did wince from the blow, he disappeared in a purple light once more on impact.

In his place was the Trench Blade, her rapier. She lashed out again, using Catwoman's training to let her wrap around it and bring it close, where she snatched it out of the air with one hand before stabbing through a rabbit mask right behind her, blood on her sword as she pulled it out. She followed this up on the next man who came for him, using her Ribbon to pull him close before impaling him on her blade.

Azumi wasn't really unnerved, though she did notice the smaller number of people attacking her this time, only five for them instead of presumably the six that he had wanted if the numbers were rising. Maybe he had a limited number and was "spawning" them into the nightmare? This time, she stabbed one in the leg with her combat knife, head butting a third as he came toward her and stabbing his own leg. She saw one of them with her pistol, and grabbed his arm as he came to swing it at her in a pistol whip, taking his head in one hand and bashing it into her knee before throwing him clean over her shoulder and slamming her knee into his chest, followed shortly after with another punch to the face.

Again the Hatter appeared. "Rest... sleep..."

Azumi was having none of it. "I got this one!" As Jessica took her place, she lunged at the Hatter, punching him in the face, [i]hard[/i]. Unfortunately he immediately disappeared once more.

The two began to fight again. Jess took up her sword again, throwing a Ball Lightning at a goon sneaking up behind Azumi as the soldier grabbed another's stolen Seeker Rifle. The ODST yanked it, forcing him off balance, then elbowed him in the back before kicking him in the back of the neck as he fell to his knees, knocking him out.

The Mad Hatter appeared for a third time, but this time, he would never get the chance to try and talk to his attackers.  Suddenly, massive claws, attached to an even more massive hand, ripped seemingly through thin air.  The hand clawed around it, and suddenly a hole in mid-air widened, revealing more of the grotesque form, and the space beyond, which could be recognized as looking exactly like the room that the Hatter had kept them in.  However, what could be seen of the room looked like it was behind a yellow filter, and a strange, red mist flowed from within.

But it was the monster that took center attention.  As it stepped through, it revealed limbs that were incredibly thing, and yet were attached to large, meaty hands and feet, which were covered in scraps of burlap.  Extending from the bottoms of the feet were toes.  However, they could only be called such just because they connected to the feet.  They were very long, and made entirely of bones, spreading out in all directions around the foot.  The ground warped and wrapped around where the thing stepped.  Where the joints connected, there was tons of hay poking out from beneath the burlap, especially from the large shoulders.  The head was small in comparison to the body, but just as horrifying, perhaps more.  It was almost entirely shrouded in darkness, except for the leering mouth, which contained rows of pointed teeth.  A long tongue hung out from between the rows of teeth, constantly moving.  And, just like all the other enemies, bright yellow eyes shone from the darkness-shrouded face.

What was it?  Another enemy, created by the Mad Hatter's serum?  No, the beast went straight for the Hatter, and easily picked him up with one gargantuan hand.  He looked up with horror at the monster, who simply grinned down at him, showing off the shark-like teeth.

[font=Matisse ITC]"Are you [i]scared[/i], Jervis?"[/font]

Not waiting for a response, the beast plucked off Tetch's hat.  It dropped the hat, and then stomped on it, flattening the hat that contained the mecahnism that controlled the serum.  He then held up Tetch higher, slamming a meaty fist into the side of his head.

===

The room was littered with unconscious bodies.  Thugs were scattered on the floor, sitting on chairs, on the table, and against the walls; and all of them would be sporting various injuries that would certainly give them headaches in the morning.

The two women tore off their masks as quickly as they could, throwing them to the ground. Jessica kicked Tetch's unconscious form as Azumi spat at him.

The neko saw her etherspace pouch in the corner, along with Azumi's, and went to get them as Azumi stayed, neither saying a word to Scarecrow.

Recovered for the moment, Azumi walked up to Crane, still glaring at the Hatter's unconscious form.

"Jervis Tetch."  Scarecrow said, picking up the hat and examining it.  "A brilliant, yet deluded mind.  He is, as you may clearly tell, obsessed with the obvious Lewis Carroll story, particularly the "Alice" character.  He murders any woman he finds that fits his imaginary description of his Alice."  He looked at the other girl, taking note of the odd appendages.  "You should count yourselves lucky I got here in time, as at least one of you fit his fantasy."  He looked back at Azumi.  "And I would think this proves that you are not so invulnerable to manipulation as you believe.  Something to think about when around Rikka, eh?"  Scarecrow walked over to the table, and picked up a pot of tea, what contained the Mad Hatter's mind control serum.  "This could be useful, and with these samples I could easily reverse engineer the formula.  Perhaps it could make an interesting addition to my own toxin, and we all know who else could use it."

The soldier grumbled under her breath, but decided that now wasn't the time.  She would prepare the proper insults against him for later, and to see if she could destroy that serum.  For now, though...

"Alright, let's just go.  I don't think there's any need to 'experiment' on her."  She glanced at Jess.  "There's been enough for one night, and I bet you have more important things to do."

The Scarecrow chuckled.  "Always trying to save your pathetic little friends, child.  It's quite amusing how you try to convince me to do things.  You are right, of course, there are bigger fish to fry than the little cat girl.  This won't stop me from conducting and experiment when I have the time, of course."

Jessica finally came back at that. "Now then, who're you? You look like one of the guys around here."

"You may call me the Scarecrow.  It's the only one of my names that is really important, after all.  And know that no matter where you go, how far you run, you'll never be able to get away from your fears, little girl.  Goodbye."  With that, Crane simply walked out through the door he had come in, leaving the two to their own devices.

Jessica watched him go, looking to the ODST, hoping for some kind of response. Gratitude? Hopefully.

Nothing came. She didn't even look at her.

"You're welcome," the Lightning user grunted, swinging out her Ribbon again. With a yank, she was gone.

After the last of them left, the soldier activated her VISR, going back to the back and picking up her helmet and putting it on. Okay... they weren't coming back, and there wasn't anyone else in audible range. She put a hand to her head, calling her most prominent mentor once more, Batman. "I'm in...from the look of the map, Park Row. I just... I had a run in with the Mad Hatter." Her voice was strained on that, but she took a deep breath. [i]Calm down, he's not going to hurt anymore...[/i] "He's not dead, but I dealt with him with... help."

A tense voice rings over the connection.[i]"What happened?"[/i]

[i]"Wait a minute.  Did you say 'Mad Hatter'?"[/i]Another voice drops in over the communication.  [i]"Don't tell me there was a talking doorknob or the March Hare, too."[/i]

[i]"Spider-Man, get off the line."[/i]  Batman waits for a few moments.  [/i]"He's here as well.  Tell me what happened."[/i]  A moment's pause. [i]"Will you be okay[/i]

A deep breath. At least Spiderman was there to lighten the mood very slightly. "I...I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, he's not a problem." Before they could object, she finished, forcing herself to sound more assured. "I'm going to go after anyone else I can find. I just need to take a few minutes to collect myself. Over and out."

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]