One Big, Happy Family II
It was a very pleasant evening in Gotham City. The heat of the day had gradually faded into a cool, comfortable temperature, and the moon shone brightly in the clear sky. It was the sort of night that made people forget that the city was a crime-ridden cesspool of insane supercriminals and mob bosses. On the contrary, those out in the evening air felt that tonight of all nights, they were safe from murderous rampages by criminal lunatics. They wandered through the parks, smelling spring in the air, and thinking themselves glad to be alive. The kind of night where nothing unusual could possibly happen.
It was through one of these parks that a man in a top hat and cane strolled, at peace with the world and everything in it. This man was Jervis Tetch, sometimes known as the Mad Hatter, although he had given up his criminal identity five years ago. Something had happened to him five years ago that had changed everything. Actually, a lot had happened in five years, he thought, as he glided down the avenue, taking in the night air and enjoying the sight of the first flowers of spring. His best friend Jonathan Crane had gotten married. Tetch was very happy for him, but he didn't see him as often as he should have these days. Crane spent more time with his wife and children, which was only natural, and was usually very busy with his work and experiments in fear as the Scarecrow. Tetch admired his friend's dedication to the criminal lifestyle, but he had found something more important than that to fill the void in his life.
He checked his pocket watch and hurried his pace. He didn't want to be late for this very important date. She would never forgive him. He felt in his jacket to make sure he hadn't forgotten the gift, and then returned to reminiscing. A lot had happened in five years. The Joker and Harley Quinn had had children – twins. A boy and a girl. Joker Junior and Arleen, although J.J. and Leenie were how they were more commonly referred to. Or the Joker Twins. Or the spawn of Satan, depending on who was talking about them. Although they were only four years of age, they both showed signs of taking after their parents, but then he supposed children often did. Alice certainly took after her mother.
He checked his watch again and hurried along, out of the park and back onto the streets of Gotham. Tetch's insane persona as the Mad Hatter had manifested itself after his secretary, Alice Pleasance, had got engaged to her fiance Billy Dodgson. He had been madly in love with Alice, and that madness had driven him to do desperate things, but over the years, and by spending time with both her and Billy, he had come to accept their relationship, and they had come to value his friendship. A year after her marriage to Billy, Alice had given birth to a baby girl, the spitting image of her mother, and had done Tetch the incredible honor of naming him godfather to the child, although she referred to him as "Uncle Jervis." She was called Catherine Alice Dodgson, but while her parents called her "Cat," Tetch insisted on calling her "Alice." And tonight he had been invited over to their house to celebrate little Alice's fifth birthday, which he was very much looking forward to. Little Alice absolutely adored him, and he her. And he couldn't wait to see the look on her face when he gave her the present he had bought her.
The scent of spring flowers from the park gradually faded into the usual smells of the city – car exhausts, unwashed bodies, grilled meat from the hot dogs sizzling in their stands. Smoke too, he thought, as he drew closer to Alice's house. Someone must be having a barbeque. It was a perfect night for it, he had to admit. A beautiful, peaceful evening where all was right with the world.
He froze suddenly as he turned the corner to the street where Alice lived. There was smoke billowing from a house lit up in flames…Alice's house. Tetch's heart leapt in shock and fear, and he raced over to the burning building. Without a moment's hesitation, he kicked open the door and rushed inside. Smoke stung his eyes and throat, and blinded him, but he managed to shout above the roaring of the flames. "Alice!" he called. "Alice, where are you?"
His voice died suddenly when his eyes fell upon the charred remains of two bodies on the floor by the kitchen. "No," he gasped, kneeling down and recognizing the face of the woman. "Oh…God…no. Alice."
He suddenly heard a scream of terror from upstairs. "Alice!" he shouted, leaping to his feet immediately. He headed toward the stairs as the flames licked at his heels. His foot fell through one of the steps, but he kept climbing, reaching the landing. The smoke was thick here and choking. He heard the scream again and rushed down the hall to little Alice's room, slamming himself against the door and knocking it down.
Little Alice was huddled in a corner by the window, sobbing in terror. She looked up as he burst into the room and gasped, "Uncle Jervis?"
"Alice!" he exclaimed, seizing her in his arms. "Oh, thank God!"
The smoke was thick and heavy, and the fire was winding its way into the room, clinging to the ceiling and making it crack. Tetch picked up Little Alice, clutching her tightly against his chest, and took a deep breath, rushing toward the window. He burst through the glass, shielding Alice with his body, and landed on his back so that she wouldn't be hurt. He cried out in pain but held her tightly – she was sobbing and coughing and held onto him as if for dear life. He struggled to his knees and hugged her fiercely. "There, there, my angel," he whispered. "Shh, shh, don't cry now."
"Where are…Mommy and Daddy?" she sobbed, looking up at him with tears running down her face.
"They're…they've…they've gone to Wonderland, Alice," murmured Tetch, wiping her eyes gently. "You remember what I've told you about Wonderland? You remember when I read you that book with all those pretty pictures? It's a beautiful place, and they're very happy there, my angel. They might be gone a long time now, because they are so very happy, but you'll see them again someday, Alice, I promise."
"I want them to be here now!" she sobbed. "I don't want them to go far away!"
"Oh, my angel, I wish I could bring them back from Wonderland," he murmured. "But it's very difficult to climb back up a rabbit hole, and it's such a long way down. But you will join them one day, my angel. One day we'll all be happy together in Wonderland. And we'll never be late, not for anything, and we'll have tea and cakes precisely at six, and we'll have so many happy adventures, all of us together. Your Mommy and Daddy were very brave people, so they went ahead of us. They've run very far ahead of us, Alice, and now they're out of our sight. But they're still there, still near us, and one day we'll see them again. I do promise you that, my angel."
He kissed her forehead tenderly and she buried her face in his chest, sobbing. "Why did they have to go to Wonderland, Uncle Jervis?" she whispered.
He stroked her hair gently. "The thing about Wonderland, my dear, is that it doesn't make sense," he whispered. "You can't ask why. There are no answers, and no reasons. It's a very mad place, with all sorts of mad people. But mad people aren't bad, Alice. Not…not all of them."
He stared at the burning building with tears trickling down his own face, which he wiped away. "Alice, my love, can you tell me what happened?" he asked, gently. "Do you know how the fire started? Was it an accident?"
She shook her head slowly. "No. Someone did it on purpose."
"Who, my dear?" he asked.
"The man who was in my room. The scary man who flew out the window."
"What man, Alice?" he asked.
"Him," she said, pointing. Tetch turned to look at the roof of the building opposite. By the light of the moon and the blaze of the fire, he could make out a dark figure looking down at them. A dark figure that Tetch recognized.
"It…can't be," he stammered. "Alice, are you sure?" he asked.
She nodded. "He's a bad man. I heard him shouting at Mommy and Daddy and went to go peek down the stairs. Then I heard Mommy screaming as the bad man sprayed fire at Daddy. And then Daddy and Mommy both screamed. And then I ran and hid in my room, but he found me. And he just looked at me and smiled, and then flew out the window. He's a bad man. That's why he wears black. That's why he dresses like a bat. Because he's bad."
The dark figure suddenly disappeared from view with a whirl of his cape. Tetch continued to stare at where he had seen him, not trusting his own eyes, though he couldn't doubt the sincerity in Alice's. She was telling the truth. And his eyes were not deceiving him. The figure had been Batman.