Disclaimer: And once again i am writing one of these but i'm not sure why because everyone knows what goes her so... WAFFLES!
A/N: I realy needed to get this out of my head because it feels like my plot bunnies are playing futbol in there, so i thought they do best if they had less ammintion.
Chapter 1: The Falling Action
Gotham City: April, 3, 1994
"Daddy read me a story!" squealed the little girl no older than six as she bounced happily on the small pull out couch adorned with princess sheet and a sparkly pillow. The man looked at his daughter with amusement.
"Which story would you like me to read to you?" he asked looking at the small assortment of beaten up books on the coffee table.
"Alice in Wonderland, Daddy, because her name is Alice, just like mine…" The man smile as he picked up the most worn of the paperbacks off the top of the disheveled stack, and he began to read of disappearing cats, and evil queens, and twins with mixed up directions, and croquet with dodo birds, and a man with a liking for tea who may be just the slightest bit mad, but it was the good kind of mad.
The little girl's eyes began to droop more and more as he read. her head sunk further back on the pillow, her blond ringlets were becoming matted under her head, and her bright blue eyes were losing focus as she began to drift of in to a wonderland all her own; she turned to her father.
"You know Daddy, why I like Alice in Wonderland?" He looked at his little daughter as her face stretched into a tired yawn…
"Why do you like it, dearie?" he asked the girl who would be asleep in less than a wink.
"It's because it so much like my life" The man's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at this.
"Now, why would that be, dearie?"
"Because sometimes I'm so much like Alice…" she said her voice trail off in exhaustion.
"And if your Alice dearie who am I, The Cheshire Cat?"
"No," she said drowsily "You'd be the Mad Hatter, because Alice and him have so much fun together, even when the evil Queen of Hearts tried to break them apart"
The man smiled at her dreamy insight, but his eyes remained sad.
"Is that so dearie?" he said looking around the tiny apartment. Where there was barely any furniture and he let his little girl take the only semi-passible accommodations for a bed. He knew the next morning she'd be gone. To her mother's for two more weeks and he wouldn't see her until next month. And because of the partial restraining order he's literally couldn't see her until next month. His ex-wife claimed him to be mad; if anyone was mad it was the judge for giving her custody of Alice. The Queen of Hearts, as his daughter had so blatantly called her, had timed it so he wouldn't see his daughter on her birthday. He scowled miserably, but later reconsidered. He should leave the sulking for when his daughter wasn't here. He paused at the thought 'When his daughter wasn't here' the idea was enough to drive anyone mad.
One week later
The news headline read.
ELIZABETH HUTCHINSON AND HER SIX YEAR OLD DAUGHTER MISSING
After a long search of the scene of the crash the bodies of the driver and the passenger were not recovered but the amount blood on the seats suggests that one of the people in the accident died. Police are currently looking into their disappearance in hopes of recovering the bodies. The now divorced Mr. Hutchinson has been entered into Arkham Asylum after attempting to kill himself over the news via strangulation. He now being treated at Arkham for delusions and waiting for news of his missing daughter and her mother.
But that headline was over nine years ago. Or to be more exact
Nine years two months, eight days, 4 hours, and 23 minutes ago.
But there's no need for exactness now. When your alone all you have is time, and there is no need for exact.
Still the man had an appointment tonight… so maybe he should be exact. It was after all a business appointment. The man was now nine year older, but you could say it was more like thirty. His mind however was exactly six years gone. But that another story for another time; right now it was time for tea with his new business partner. A man named Lawrence Crock. Who wished to be called Sportsmaster. But the man thought Lawrence sounded better so he would call him Lawrence.
Lawrence needed help with a kidnapping, or more like a president of a major world power napping but that beside the point. Napping was napping; unless you're asleep, then you're not napping, rather dozing or resting your eyes for a bit, but no, not napping. The man looked at his watch.
Oh, he was later very late. He can't be late, he had an appointment.
Gotham City, June, 11, 2003
When you're a villain it's not very often that you get desperate enough to ask for help. Epically from certain other villains that pose certain threat that pertain specifically to you or more specifically your family. But when you did get desperate enough sometimes there is no other choice. So you do whatever you can to make sure all precautions are taken with the exchange.
"Artemis," Sportsmaster says gruffly trying not to let his voice show any hint of what would transgress tonight "I need you to stay in your room tonight"
Eight years old Artemis, looks at her father in confusion. Usually he invited her to join him on his business exchanges, so she could learn how to manage them correctly.
Never show fear
Always have them meet their side of the deal first
And always, always bring back up. Also Known As: her.
So what was he doing? Artemis opened her mouth to speak, but a look from her dad bought her silence.
"You are to stay in you room; do you understand? Don't make a sound and don't come out for any reason; until I tell you it's okay. Got it?" he said his voice was harsh but Artemis knew she should listen. This would not be like all the other times this was different and Artemis wasn't quite sure why.
She went in to the room and heard the door click shut. There wasn't a lock but the snap was enough to make her jump. She sat on her bed and picked up her favorite book, Alice and wonderland and began to read silently, only stopping when she heard a soft knock on the main door of the apartment.
Lawrence cursed as her went to the door. Why in hell did the lunatic insist of meeting in his house of all places, but still he opened the door with a false smile of commerce written all over his face.
"Welcome, Hatter" he said can I get you anything
"Tea," he said "Tea, you can never have enough tea!"
"Tea it is…" said Lawrence thanking that his wife had taught him a thing or two about tea before she had gone to jail. He put a bit of water in to the old kettle to boil and turned back to the mad man.
"So the business transaction we have; can you meet your end?"
The man smiled, but it didn't meet his eyes.
"Of course." He said "Do you have my payment?"
Lawrence raised an eyebrow at his suggestion
"Not until you deliver your end"
"Well, I see you don't understand how I work, Lawrence?"
"Sportsmaster." grunted Lawrence under his breath. "The name's Sportsmaster."
"Very well, Lawrence, but you see… I only work in very specific ways and one of those ways is I require payment first" there was a sudden calmness to his tone that was off-setting.
"Very well" Lawrence grunted as he left to the other room.
Artemis let out a squeak from behind the door she had been pressed up against as she strained to listen to the conversation outside. Her father was giving in just like that; it was odd, to say the least. Realizing her gasp had made a bit more noise than expected; she clamped a hand over her mouth as if to try and recapture the noise that had escaped, but the damage was done.
"What was that?" asked the Hatter cocking his ear to one side.
"What was what?" asked Lawrence form the other room as he counted out stacks of money he had received in the little arrangement he had with another group for the kidnapping of the world leader.
"Why that noise, dear Lawrence, it sounds as if it came from that room there…"
Lawrence froze. He had told her to keep quiet; why couldn't she just listen?
"This room, you mean? The floor boards over here are a little squeaky you know old apartments" the hatter made a small 'hmm' in agreement, but wasn't deterred.
"No I'm sure it came from that room" Artemis froze against the door. She should hide but she didn't want to draw and more unwanted attention with her footsteps.
The tea pot began to whistle loudly, and both Artemis and Lawrence let out a sigh of relief.
Artemis use the high-pitched whistle to cover her steps; as she backed away from the door. But the small run in the room caught her heel and she landed on her back with a thump.
"What was that?" asked the Hatter.
"Tea's done" said Lawrence trying to change subjects, but the Hatter stood and began to walk over to the door. The hatter's hand was on the doorknob before Lawrence could say anything more. He barely got out, "It just a cat!"; before the mad Hatter laughed, as he peered into the room at the young girl.
"Looks more like an Alice to me, hello dearie, do you remember me?"
Artemis just stared at the man in confusion.
"Get away from her!" shouted Lawrence as he reached for a knife hidden in his belt. Artemis scurried backward into her room. She didn't know the man, but the way he looked at her scared her greatly.
"If I leave, I'd like to take my Alice with me" the Hatter said his voice seemed possessed and confused but with an underlying determination that left him capable of doing anything to get back his little girl.
"Hatter stop, that's my daughter, Artemis, now get away from her, I do not think this business deal will work out"
"Alice!" screeched the man lunging for the door but Lawrence slammed it shut.
A frozen minute passed before it melted and dripped into a delirium them the Hatter slow retruned to reality.
"We were discussing a business deal, Lawrence, Yes?' Stunned, Lawrence could only nod.
"Well let's get to it. Where's that tea?" Lawrence was unsure about the threat hatter seemed to pose to his daughter but at the moment he didn't seem to have a choice. The hatter was by far the best in the kidnapping business even if he seemed to be madder than, well.. a Hatter. He handed him the case with the money. The Hatter handed half back.
"Half now, half after and you and your daughter are helping me?" he said with a sickening giggle "May I have some more tea please?"
A month later the kidnapping plans were finally in place and Lawrence is relived. A month of finding ways for his daughter to avoid the Hatter at all cost, and several failures to do so resulted in a terrified Artemis. Artemis couldn't be terrified of him or anyone; if she was terrified she couldn't kill and therefore her train thus far would be in vain. So Lawrence truly hoped this went well; the hatter is not someone he planed on working with again, ever.
And the plan seemed to be going accordingly until the final drop for the hostage, the most crucial one. At the last minute they were intercepted, scattered and left in a daze before anyone could figure out whether the hostage was there or not. All that was left is a red paper heart torn almost in two.
After this the Hatter simply broke down and began to weep; the other Henchmen just stare at him and Lawrence does, too.
"Definitely, never working with him again."
8 years later
?: April, 3, 2012
The Young Justice team is on a mission. The daughter of a US senator was taken in the middle of the night and they are sent to track her down.
With Robin's hacking skills and Megan's abilities the find her in just under an hour before the deadline.
When the find her she's alone in a warehouse, sobbing but alive. She's barely fifteen years old, and her blond hair's done up on her head with a large bow. Her dress is baby blue, matching her eyes. She looks physically fine but she visibly shaken, and whoever did this is nowhere to be found. The team searched the warehouse for hours and the don't find a single scrap of evidence that anyone else was there.
Or course Kaldur points out she didn't just end up in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere dressed so strange on her own.
"She dressed as Alice, from Alice in Wonderland…" said both Artemis and Wally at the same time. Robin laughs lightly. As the two stare at each other for a second longer, before Artemis cracks a small smile.
"I never took you for the book type"
"Hey, I read but Alice in wonderland I only remember seeing the movie, it was my favorite..." Says Wally sheepishly. Artemis's smirk shifts to a smile, but she doesn't say "mine too" or "I prefer the book". They can talk about that later at the Cave, when there wasn't a kidnapper loose.
Eventually the rest of the team goes outside to check the surrounding woods, but as she nearly leaves Artemis hears something, a single thump from one of the upper platforms in the warehouse. Artemis bolts after the noise, swiftly climbing the ladder connecting the crosshatched platforms to the base floor. All she can see out of the corner of her eyes is a white blur and something hinting of green. She turns to see a figure running quickly away from her.
"Stop!" she yells at the figure, running after him through a twist and turns of the metal maze. She grabs for her bow but suddenly the figure begins to shake the less secure platform underneath her. She almost falls but instead her bow plummets to the ground. The man turns revealing his blood shot eyes and his smile that won't meet them. His unsmiling eye widen in surprise.
"Alice," he says. Artemis freezes at the familiar voice and almost familiar name. She stands their petrified in a combination of shock and remembered fear resurfacing anew.
"You came back to me; I knew you would!" unexpectedly she's surrounded by a thick fog of smoke and the world starts to go a bit blurry around the edges. Finally she gives in and feels her weight being lifted by another force.
The last thing she hears is a laugh so calm and familiar yet it injects ice in to her veins all the same. She should run but right now, the black, it's so inviting. She knows if she let it take her; she'll be fine. Right? Yes, she'll be fine.
Because Alice has returned, and now she can be safe…
Okay, Okay, Okay I know other people, I mean a lot of other people, have done this idea, with the whole Alice/Artemis parallel thing, but this is kinda my spin on it. And if you check I'm sure this may be the only one where the hatter isn't some kind of perverted freak. Because I know tons of people think Alice and Hatter had something but I was always sure it was closer to father daughter kind of something. And I just recently watched OUAT episode Hat Trick to which there are a few subtle references to, but no direct correlation. So yeah hope you enjoyed this Chapter I think though I'll need to take my time with this story. But if you'd like to prompt me to take my time faster the review button is right there. And you're perfectly capable. So Read and Review - ; ) Song