All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners (Lewis Carroll, DC, Cartoon Network).
WARNING: Offscreen death of children.
Heavily drawn from "Alice in Wonderland", "Through the Looking Glass", and "The Hunting of the Snark". Set season 1.
The light flashed and faded, and Artemis hiked her bag up higher over her shoulder. It was so nice to be back home at Mount Justice, she thought. Strange, how quickly it became more like home to her than her actual home.
She made her way to the kitchen, following her nose. Something smelled like sugar and spice and everything nice, and chances were, it was M'gann who'd made it.
She paused in the hallway outside the den area, surprised to hear giggling. That was odd, and a little worrisome, so she took the remaining steps a little quicker than normal, willing the door to woosh open faster.
"Oh, hi, Artemis!" M'gann called, waving. There were dabs of color everywhere, and it looked like someone had blown a frosting-tornado through the whole room. And Zatanna stood beside her, streaks of blue in her hair and pink on her nose. "Look, look! Zee here is teaching me how to make icing! She's really good at it!"
"Thanks," Zatanna said, blushing a bit. "It's not that hard, though. And you're better at it than me!"
M'gann dimpled, and said, "Come help, Artemis! We have lots of cookies to frost!"
Artemis just stood in the doorway and stared. She'd forgotten that Zatanna was spending the weekend with them, and the scene in front of her was just so...so sugary and sickeningly sweet that she felt like an intruder just by watching.
"Uh, thanks," she said, "but I gotta go...uh. Do a thing."
"Are you sure?" Zatanna asked, and M'gann floated a cookie with green icing over to her.
"Yeah," said the archer, catching the cookie on instinct."Yeah, no, I'm cool. Uh. See you guys later." She turned and stepped out, letting the door close. The giggling started up behind her again, and she stared at the cookie. Then she took a vicious bite out of it, and it was delicious and that made it worse.
She wandered down the hall, finishing the cookie and licking the frosting off her fingers. It settled in her stomach like lead, but that was okay. She'd go see what Robin was up to, or Wally.
She dropped her bag in her room, and decided to try the training room. She heard grunts as she approached, and her steps lightened a little. Maybe someone would like to spar-
"Very good," Kaldur said, as she rounded the corner. "But remember, while M'gann can go up and Artemis remains mobile, Zatanna is going to need to stay stable to cast some of her bigger spells. You can't venture too far from her, okay?"
"Why can't you stay with her, then?" Conner said, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Artemis quietly agreed, but hung back, watching the two admittedly pretty boys grapple with each other.
"I will. We will rotate, and we'll have to rework some of the basic formations. She has powerful abilities, but all the limitations of a human, like Robin or Artemis."
And Artemis thought back, remembered how, when she first joined the team, they all just expected her to slot into place. And she had; she'd practiced long hours on her own in the simulator, trying to find where she'd fit. They hadn't reworked formations for her.
Of course, some of those formations had already had places for an archer, but that kind of made it worse.
Because she was only human, without the skills of Robin or the magic of Zatanna, and they probably needed a versatile caster more than a long-range archer.
She sneaked backwards away from the door, and put her weight on the wall behind her for a second. Everyone was all in a tizzy over the new girl, and she wasn't even on their team, not yet.
"Right," she murmured, shaking herself out of it. "Robin, Kid Flash. Gonna find them."
They hadn't been playing video games in the living room, or sparring in the training room, so she headed down the hall towards the bedrooms. No explosions or yells could be heard echoing down the halls, so she moved on, wandering down towards the lab. On the one hand, she wanted to find them, but on the other, she really hoped they weren't there, because last time the two of them were left unsupervised in the lab for an extended period of time, the mountain smelled like charred pumpkin for weeks.
Sure enough, there were loud banging noises coming from that direction, so she slowed and went up on her toes. Best to be stealthy; it was good practice, and also, she wanted to be sure they weren't also talking about Zee.
"No, that's the strange thing," Robin said, and then bang clunk bang. "We're starting to think that maybe there's a connection."
"Between Mister Cup and Miss Stick? Really, dude? I know you're paranoid, but that's pushing it, don't you think?"
Click click whirrrrrrr.
"No, not paranoid. Dead redhead with a dagger that wasn't used to kill her, dead singer with a stick that wasn't used to stab him...I think we may have a pattern."
Okay, so not Zatanna, but still, serial murders? This is what the boys did on their offtime? Somehow, that explained rather a lot about Robin. Still, they weren't talking about the new girl, so she ignored the clink-clink-clunk and rapped sharply on the door.
"Come!" Robin called, and Artemis inhaled and pushed the door open.
"Hey, guys," she said, then blinked. "I smell french fries."
"No," Wally corrected, spinning around in his chair. "You smell a potato-laser in progress."
"A-nope. No, I do not actually-yeah, okay I do. Why?"
Robin grinned. He grinned that grin, and Artemis took a step back. "Better question: why not?"
"Because I don't trust you two with a laser? Wait, is it a laser powered by potatoes, or a laser for potatoes?"
"Yes," said Robin. "A potato laser. You know. It's kinda-" he said, and beeped. The other two stared at him. He blinked, then opened a holoscreen, which beeped again.
"What's wrong?"
Robin took a deep breath, and said, "They found another one."
"So it is a serial killer, then?" Wally asked.
"Not according to the cops," Robin said, absently dismissive. "But this one's high profile; daughter of someone important. She was-" he paused a split second and his head tilted a single centimeter in her direction. "She went to Gotham Academy."
Artemis braced herself. It was probably not someone she knew, but...oh. No, wait, that was Marie Kesslet, that couldn't be right.
"Marie Eugenia Kesslet," Robin's voice confirmed softly. She focused on Eugenia and wanted to laugh, because no wonder Marie always used a middle initial, Marie who was bright and cheerful and smiling, Marie who was a cheerleader but not stuck up, Marie who-
-who was dead, apparently, pale with eyes wide open, a chalice in her hand.
Oh.
Oh.
"If we assume it is, though-and they did all die the same unknown way-we've got a knife, a stick and a chalice. Or rather, a sword, a wand and a cup."
"Oh," Artemis said, this time out loud. "Cards."
"Yeah," said Robin. "Exactly."
"Uh," said Wally. "I don't get it?"
"Tarot," Robin explained. "Four suits: Swords, Wands, Cups, and Pentacles." Wally made a sound of understanding.
Artemis swallowed, and Robin kept talking. "No connections that we've traced to the Major Arcana; seems to be limited to suits alone. But they've each died from the same inexplicable cause. Definitely connected; now that the police are on it, we might-"
She blinked, blocking the image for just a second; it didn't help. Marie was there on the back of her eyelids, and Robin was being so, so practical about it. Her eyes were stinging, and suddenly so were the palms of her hands. Beause she'd slammed her hands on the table.
"I gotta-" she said. "I just. Sorry."
"Hey, it's okay," Wally said. "Hey, you all right?"
"I got a thing," she said blankly. "Bye."
They watched her leave silently.
"You should quit," said a voice around the corner, and she couldn't stop the flinch as she froze in place.
Worst timing ever.
She took a deep breath in, then rounded the corner, hissing, "You. You should leave me alone. You are not on the team. You gave them up."
"I gave up the team, not my friends," Red Arrow said. His voice was level, but his hands were fisted at his sides. "You don't fall into that category. I don't know you; I only know you're a liar. So I don't trust you. I don't like you. I don't want you around my friends."
"They're my friends, too!" she snapped, leaning in and matching his posture, blinking back the hurt. "They trust me at their back."
His mouth drew tight and his voice came out low and angry. "Which is why you should quit. Do you honestly think you deserve their trust?"
And for that, she had no answer, because she refused to give him the "no" they both knew was the truth. She was lying, she was hiding, and she was only human, not a meta, not magical, not the best fighter, not the strongest or the quickest or the smartest. She was dragging them down, but she could forget that most of the time; she could ignore it when Red Arrow wasn't shoving it in her face.
"I know!" she exploded, and took in a deep breath. Steady, steady now-like a long-distance shot. Breathe in, hold, think-"I know that. But I'm trying. I'm doing my very best to be as worthy as I can be. And not all secrets are harmful! Not all lies are bad! I am earning my place on this team." Breathe. Breathe in, hold. "You have no power here. You can't make me quit, because I don't answer to you." And that, just all of it, was such a relief after this afternoon that she had to laugh, just a little. "I am trying. You gave up. So leave me alone."
Breathe. In, hold, out. Out. Calm. She relaxed her hands from their fists, slammed her shoulders back and raised her chin, then stepped out and walked away.
She was trying, she told herself as she hit the coordinates for home, too wound up to bother with hiding her trail. Not like anyone'd follow, anyway. She was trying. She just wished that sometimes her teammates would try, too.
Okay, so maybe Roy sucked at people. A little bit. Maybe.
Okay, maybe a lot.
Suddenly, he was angry. He had every right to say what he said; there was no reason he should be staring after her, feeling like-like this. He didn't trust a liar, and hated to see his friends relying on this strange archer they shouldn't trust. He slammed a fist into the wall, and succeeded only in redirecting his anger. That had hurt. Stupid wall.
Stupid Roy.
Growling, he punched the wall again and turned away.
Sitting still while angry was hard. It had been a horrible day, and even hours later, she still hadn't calmed down.
Pacing was helping, but not productive. There was that essay due on Tuesday, maybe she could read. Flopping down on her bed, she grabbed the book, flipped it open, and threw it across the room.
No. She needed to get up, get out. She needed to move. So she said screw it, grabbed her bow and quiver, and went out on patrol.
If she came across Robin, she'd just...make something up or something. Whatever. She just needed to prove to herself and the world that she was her own person, away from the influence of the team or her family or her father.
And if she happened across some idiot criminals who needed a beat-down, well, she was certainly in the mood to oblige.
Artemis climbed out her bedroom window, slipping across the ledge and making for the roof across the way.
Bad guys beware; she was on the prowl tonight.
Only, nothing was happening. The air was heavy and still, and she ran and jumped and swung, and grew more and more frustrated.
A siren split the night and she was off like an arrow from a bowstring. The wind lifted around her, and she headed towards-
-towards the First Bank of Gotham. Three thugs were rounding the corner and running for an idling truck, and it was the easiest thing in the world to pop the tires. And a shock arrow to the driver—she wasn't feeling merciful tonight- put their getaway car out of commission. An arrow full of sleep gas triggered on impact, and the three crooks pulled their shirts up over their noses and mouths.
She snorted from her perch across the way. Yeah, like that'd help. It was a special gas, designed by Batman and refined by Robin, and no shirt was gonna keep them from-
One. Two. Aaaaaand three.
-from going nighty-night.
An easy takedown, and hardly satisfying. She left the idiots for the cops, and swung out a line, heading for uptown.
Uptown crime was much more white-collar, and harder to stop alone. Still, in Gotham, someone always needed protecting or rescuing, if even just from themselves. It was a harsh city, and even Batman couldn't save everyone.
Marie...
There was a scratching from an alley that she was jumping over, so she landed it, rolled out the momentum, and came back around to peer over the edge. Her breath caught in her throat.
They couldn't be more than ten, at the oldest. A little boy, a little girl, all curled up together in a circle painted on the ground.
They weren't moving.
Sometimes, she hated this city.
Artemis glanced around, saw no one, and jumped. She bent her knees into the landing, absorbing the impact with her whole body.
"Hello?" she whispered to the children. There was no answer. And this close, they were pale and still.
She took a careful step over the paint, and noticed that it wasn't paint. Sure, someone had used a paintbrush to construct a pentacle, but the liquid had the dried, flaky quality she knew too well.
Sure enough, the kids were pale white, no color to be found under their skin.
"Who would do this...?" she asked in horror, turning the girl to face upwards. Dead eyes stared up at the sky, and Artemis felt rage and heat and anger build in her stomach.
Something was happening in Gotham, and she would figure out what it was.
Something clamped across her face and nose, and she inhaled in surprise. The smell was strong and familiar, and for a crazy second, she thought, oh, hello, excuse me but does this rag smell like chloroform to you? and then she drove her elbow backwards into her assailant's gut.
The dose had been high, but she'd been trained to withstand a lot worse. It would take effect, she knew, but she had a little time. She took a few woozy steps, aiming for the wall.
Sounds behind her told her she was running out of time, so she did the only thing she could think of: she slashed an arrow across her palm, and slammed it to the wall. She dragged it down, wincing at the tug of concrete on skin, and three quick strokes finished her work.
She sank to her knees, and felt a hand on her shoulder. "Get away from me," she said, only it came out weak, wobbly, and with too few vowels.
"Now, now, Alice, don't be like that," a male voice breathed heavy and obscene into her ear. "Come on, follow the white rabbit, all the way down to your dreams."
And she was falling, falling asleep, falling forward, falling down.
She wondered if the team would see her message.
She wondered if they'd care.
She wondered-
It took until quarter past three the next afternoon for Kaldur to ask where Artemis was.
Zatanna shrugged. "She said she had a thing."
"You're perfect," someone said, and she thought, wrong.
She was in a chair. She knew this from the armrests and the back, and it wasn't a comfortable chair. Maybe if it stopped falling, it'd be okay.
"The first Alice, she was too violent," they continued. "But force doesn't work, the feedback's just as violent; you can't kill your way to the throne, you know. Don't try that, dearie, okay?"
She wanted to say, I don't like blood, I don't kill, but the world was a wash of red and those words weren't strictly true.
"With Spades out, we go to Diamonds, and song, sung so pretty that it's creation. But one wrong note led him to one wrong tune to one wrong song to one wrong world and insanity perpetuates sanity, and well, suicide is so messy, so don't stray off the path, not a toe off the path. Don't stray off the path, Alice. Alice, can you hear me?"
She couldn't manage a yes, but she could just manage a nod. But it was all a bit off, because...because her name wasn't...wasn't Alice. Wasn't it?
"Trump suits don't work, so the Alice needs support. You understand, Alice? Don't use force, don't stray from the path, and gather friends. Clubs, oh, she was a pretty butterfly, wasn't she, so popular. She-"
She knew this story, though, knew a pretty, popular, a dead little girl, and she tried and reached, but the name escaped her in her breath as "Marie."
"You knew her, didn't you, Alice? Good, good girl. Yes, she got caught up, lost in her castle, ignored the people, ignored the land. You need support, darling Alice, but never power. Are you taking notes?"
Something was wrong.
"The last Alices were support to each other, each brain taking part of the strain. Hearts, symmetrical, perfect, and too childish by half."
Something was so, so wrong.
"Exactly half, actually. Half of each, the inside half, but oh, I saved that half for you. Alice, here, it's half past four, darling, it's tea time!"
It was wrong, she knew it, she wasn't an Alice, she didn't belong here, but there was a teacup in her hand, and she didn't really belong anywhere else, either.
"Drink up, Alice," and oh, but that voice was comforting. No one would come for her, she couldn't remember why, but she did know that. No one was coming.
"You're young enough, pretty enough, creative enough, oh yes, and you've got training. Discipline and training, that's why I laid my picnic and waited for a hero to come by. Alice is a hero, you know, to Wonderland. They worship you there. They love you."
No one was coming. The tea was made of red rainbows, and smelled like magic.
"Drink on up, Alice," the voice said, and, god help her, she listened.
Roy paced the rooftop, changing his mind as often as he changed direction.
This was a bad idea.
Not doing it would be worse.
But this was a Bad Idea.
But leaving it alone-
There was commotion in the apartment across the way, and he dropped, thoughts on hold. The lady in the wheelchair, the mother, was moving. She was going from room to room, looking, and her mouth was moving as she was growing ever more distressed.
Maybe-maybe when Robin gave him Artemis's address under the pretext of checking up on her...maybe he meant it?
He reached for his comm, then hesitated; no need to set off any alarms just yet. He grabbed his cell instead, firing off a quick text: Isn't home. Should I be worried?
Less than a minute later, Robin responded with, I am. Roy let his hand drop, carrying the message away.
"Well, shit," he said out loud. "Maybe I suck a lot at people."
dark and light and sound so bright, and oh, yes please, more tea
"Robin, concentrate," Batman snapped, and Robin winced.
"Sorry," he said, but Artemis was missing. No one had seen her since Roy, and now she wasn't even home. No excuses, though, so he dropped onto a nearby dumpster to get a closer look.
"Twins," he said out loud, and snapped some pictures. "Circle-pentagram. Tarot Killer again?"
Batman made a noncommittal noise and swept in closer, so Robin continued. "Drained of blood, used to paint the symbol, probably-not enough here for both of them, though." He stood, looking down at the little bodies, curled onto their sides and facing each other. She had one of his hands in both of hers. "Why twins? If he's going into the Major Arcana, the only one with two is the Lovers, but-"
"Cause of death," Batman said, looking down.
"Brain overload," Robin answered promptly, flipping through the police reports on file. "Massive cerebral hemorrhaging led to death, cause unknown." He paused on the autopsy and added, "All had the same drug in their systems; police ID'd it as a mild hallucinogenic. Did you get a sample?"
"Ran it last night," was all he was getting, so he trawled through recent data on the main server and pulled it himself. His breath caught on what he read; fear gas, which meant, "Scarecr-wait. Fear gas and Joker gas? And this-what the hell is this? It's like someone used preexisting gases to mix up their own special blend-how'd they get their hands on this stuff?"
Batman's shoulders moved a tiny amount, and Robin frowned. If Batman didn't know where it was from, he'd be tracking it already; Robin would have to focus on where it was going. To do that, he'd have to know what it did. "Hallucinogenic," he mused, starting basic. "To leave someone heightened but malleable...? Not quite mind-control."
"Not yet," Batman said, and oh yeah, good point. Depending on who had this and what they were doing with it, this could go way bad, way quick.
Robin's head snapped up, Batman a bet ahead of him. "Sirens," he said anyway.
Batman nodded and produced a grapplegun. "I'll handle this," he said. "You go check on Artemis."
Robin sighed, stood, and took off wondering if he'd ever be able to keep anything from Batman.
"That's it...just let it go..."
It was dark. Dark and cold and open and empty. Dark and quiet, with a whisper in her ear like slime, like honey, like belladonna powder tossed into wind. Heavy like the hat on her head, size 10/6.
"Let it go," it whispered, floats, slides.
She managed an incoherent interrogative, and shifting caused her hair to pull her head to the side.
"No, no, don't fight it, darling girl," it cooed, soothed, laughed. "Let it go, let it flow-don't worry. Just hold on, and now, so easy, repeat after me, okay, repeating: twinkle, twinkle, little bat..."
"Twi-wink'l...wha?"
"Shhhh, twinkle, twinkle..."
And it bothered her, because she knew that, that poem, she thought it was a poem...? Yes, and it was just off, just a little...just wrong.
"ow...wonner-whr you're at...?"
"Yes, that's it!" It's delight sneaked into her ear, smooth and warm as sweetened tea, tea with crumpets and...and butter? "Up above the world so high..." it prompted.
And it was in her head, it was her thought, it was the logical progression, so she hiccuped and breathed, and it came out slow and lilting; "Like a tea tray in the sky..."
"That's right; that's right! Finish it!"
But it wasn't right. It wasn't...she needed-
...a team?
"Finish it," the voice demands, all dark colors and sharp edges, flying at her.
She could feel it coming and too well she knew the pain of disobeying the King-king of Hearts, right?-so she flinched and stuttered, babbled her way through the lines. "Tw-twinkle twinkle little bat how I wonder where you're at!"
Something clicked into place, and everything made nonsense again.
"Good," the sun purred, which was odd because it was the middle of the night. "Yes, perfect. Welcome home, Alice!"
-is that her name? It almost fit.
"I'm late!" it cried in the voice of a rabbit. A rabbit scampering past, wearing a waistcoat; that was new.
"Late for what?" she asked. He didn't seem to hear her; he didn't stop. So she took off after him. "Wait! Excuse me! Late for what?"
The doorbell rang.
Paula got to the door as fast as she could, and tore it open. It wasn't Artemis, though; it was a young boy with slicked back hair. "Hi," she said flatly.
"Excuse me, Ms. Crock? Hi, I'm Dick Grayson; I attend Gotham Academy along with your daughter...?"
She sank back into her chair in relief. "Have you seen her? Is she okay?"
He blinked. "I'm sorry? Is she not here?"
Paula's face fell, and her hopes with it. "I haven't seen her since yesterday. I was hoping..."
"Oh," Dick said softly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just..." and he held up a necklace, a dainty silver chain with a small charm. It was Artemis's, and it was one she never really wore. "I found it," he said.
"Thanks," she said, and took it from him. "Sorry about that. Thank you for returning it."
"Not at all, ma'am," he said, and made a little bow seem natural. "I hope we're going to be friends, me and Artemis. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."
"Thanks for coming," she said again, and clutching the necklace tightly, she shut the door.
On the other side, Dick put his hand to his ear and said, "Team, assemble in Gotham. It's an emergency."
"Alice," said the Rabbit, said the Hatter, and, "Alice. They're moving. They're here, Alice, come to chop off your head."
The Queen of Hearts, her mind filled in, but it was a man who appeared with the name, faceless yet smiling, and nasty with it. King, she corrected, and slurred out, "...of hearts..."
"That's right," said the wind, sung the flowers. "You must stop them, Alice. You have to protect us, and yourself, Alice. They think you're a Snark, you see."
And, oh, ooh, but she knew that word, she knew it, she knew that you sought it with thimbles, you sought it with care, and...and-
"...with care-" she repeated; it was important.
"That's right, darling Alice. They'll hunt you with forks and with hope."
That couldn't be allowed. She had to-had to protect-Wonderland wanted her, and from far away, there floated across the vale an excited tingling of a bell.
"Walls," she whispered, and there were.
Wally stopped suddenly, and not by choice. "Mpgh, ooouuuww," he managed, or something similar as he slid down nothing at all.
"What's wrong?" Robin snapped over comms. "Kid Flash!"
"S'a wall," Wally managed. "Something stopped me. Ow."
M'gann gasped suddenly, and before anyone could ask, started talking. "Psychic projection," she said. "It's huge, it's massive; there's a consciousness over-it's over the whole city. It's imposing its will on reality."
"Who could do that?" Connor asked, and they gathered around where Wally had stopped.
Kaldur turned, asked, "Zatanna?"
"There are no magic users that powerful in Gotham," Zatanna said, and wrapped her arms around her. "That kind of span...that's a lot."
Kaldur nodded and asked, "Robin?"
He already had his wristcomp up, flicking through files. "She's right; Batman carefully monitors magicians of that power. Without more information, we can't really narrow it down."
"Hey," Wally said, "how about this new killer in Gotham? Artie took the girl's death pretty hard." Everyone but Robin shot him questioning looks, but he only had eyes for the holofiles in the air. "Might just be a coincidence?"
"Coincidences take an awful lot of planning," Robin answered grimly, and brought up photos of the newest site. "Graphic," he warned just in time, though no one turned away.
"Kids," Connor said, low and tight.
"Gotham," Robin shrugged back,
"Okay, seriously, Rob, when this is over, I'm going to sit you down and explain empathy and compassion to you, since you seem to have misplaced yours," Wally said, but leaned in to see the photos better. He frowned. "Should be more blood."
"It was drained," Robin reported, ignoring everything not relevant to the mission. "This is a dump site, not a crime scene."
"The only blood is the circle," Zatanna noted, though her face was a shade paler than normal. "Blood circles can work powerful magic."
"And the wall," Kaldur noted, and everyone blinked. "There's blood there, too. On the wall."
"Irrelevant?" Robin postulated, but flicked through photos 'til he found a better angle. "It was fresh when painted; the circle wasn't."
"It's lines," M'gann said, squinting. "Wait a-wait. Rotate it."
Robin did, clockwise, until suddenly the original sideways checkmark resolved itself into a distorted form of the arrow logo Artemis sported.
"Coincidence?" Wally asked weakly. No one bothered to answer; they all knew it wasn't.
"M'gann," Kaldur said, "tell us more about the presence you feel."
"I," she said, and stopped. Frowned. "It's huge, but chaotic...illogical. Young, I think."
"Klarion?" Kaldur asked, and Robin, Zatanna and M'gann all said "No," at the same time.
"He's out of state," Robin said, sorting through other possibilities.
"I would have sensed him," Zatanna explained, frowning and calling up light in her hands.
M'gann said, "It's not malicious. It's confused? It's-I think it's singing."
Glances were exchanged, and Zatanna, using her disc of light to scry, said, "Three."
"What I tell you three times is true," M'gann murmured.
"I know that line," Wally said. "I can't remember-it's from..."
M'gann's voice went high and childish, and with her eyes still closed, she sang out, "Well, pardon me, but, Mister Three, why do you paint them red?"
"I am so stupid," Robin growled just as Wally yelped "Alice in Wonderland!"
"Lewis Carroll," Zatanna murmured, and blinked her light out. "It's Lewis Carroll."
"No," Robin bit out, pulling up a picture with short, fast movements. "It's the Mad Hatter."
"They're coming," Wonderland warned her, but she saw them; she was watching them the whole time.
They were coming for her; dogs, lean and mean, whipping through the streets. They were His, she knew; they had to be, and if she was to win this game of chess, she'd best fortify her castle.
A Castle. Good idea. And it was.
"Robin, location; Zatanna, tracking spell; M'gann-"
Linked up, M'gann reported, and they quickly sounded off. Can't reach Artemis, she said, then hesitated.
What? Wally asked. Can you, or not?
M'gann sighed, then took their link and touched it to a live wire of nonsense: shoesandshipsandsealingwax, and suicidal clowns-up and in to twistytwistand oh but I want more tea-MOVEUP-
Yes, okay, ow, Connor sent, then paused. We're gonna find her.
Got it, Robin said. Warehouse, clear across town, it's-
-MY CASTLE-
-oops, M'gann said. Sorry, it's-it's hard to keep her out. She's gonna be fighting us, I think.
"Ow!" Wally yelped, jumping and dashing away from where he stood. Something bit me!
Probably the tree, Zatanna put in, and Wally threw her a dirty look. No, really. Look, it has a mouth.
'Golden Afternoon', Robin said. In Wonderland, flowers sing. Let's go, and avoid the greenery.
"They're not stopping," and the wind is upset. "Alice, darling, do keep them away."
They couldn't reach the castle anyway, not here in the center of the hedge maze, a disastrous tangle filled with thorns, dead ends and poison.
But if she could stop them earlier, that would be better. What was something scary? What was-water. Oooh, water and, and wind; a storm.
She took in a deep breath, and blew out a gale.
Wind's picking up, Kaldur noted as they took off on their madcap dash across Gotham. Very suddenly.
Coinc- Wally started, and Robin and Zatanna chorused, Don't.
Hurry up, Conner said, landing a leap. He took off again, and looked down. It's getting bigger.
He was closing in on the district, M'gann on his heels. Kaldur was behind them, Robin above him, as they moved through the streets on light feet. Zatanna stopped, trying to get in enough breath for a speed spell.
"Pardon me," Kid Flash said in her ear. "Need a lift?"
"Thanks," she gasped. "If it's no trouble."
"Helping a pretty girl is never trouble," Wally grinned cheerfully. "You'll see; we'll catch up in a flash!"
And they did. The team hit the warehouse district, which was suddenly bigger on the inside.
Maze, Zatanna said, sliding out of Wally's arms. "Thanks," she shouted at Wally, and he still didn't hear it.
Labyrinth, Robin corrected. M'gann, go high.
She went up, and the wind forced her back down. Can't, she said, but the presence is stronger.
I got this, Zatanna said, and the wind whipped the words from her lips as the rain drowned out her voice, but the bright arrow of light was visible enough. Follow me, she said, and they spread out as far as they could without losing sight of each other, following Zatanna's arrow right into a warehouse that looked no different than any other.
"At least it's quieter in here," Wally said, shaking water off himself.
Over here, M'gann said, floating to the far wall. Look, a door.
"Writing," Kaldur murmured, and traced the letters with his fingers. "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
There was a moment as everyone thought, then Zatanna asked, Do we just guess?
No, no; haven't you ever played video games? There's always an answer around, somewhere. He zoomed away, looking around. Wasn't this a riddle in the book?
A riddle with no answer, Robin replied. It was designed to be unsolvable; if he thought up an answer, he kept it a secret.
That must be it! M'gann said. "The answer is a secret!"
There was a click from inside the wall. The door hitched upwards. See? Wally said, and then the door froze.
Pale brown gas poured out from the crack, and there was some very nasty swearing as everyone stopped inhaling. The gas was acting strangely, though, gathering in and up, pulling together to form a shape. Something almost five feet, slender, almost...almost a person.
Uh, guys, Wally said.
Ghost, Zatanna said instantly. We can't hurt it; it's insubstantial.
Can it hurt us? Kaldur asked, eying the young monochromatic girl.
Oh yes, Zatanna answered. They're deadly.
Right, said Conner. Run.
"The lion and the unicorn, fighting for the crown," someone was muttering, and that someone was her. It was her voice, grown high and brittle.
"Exactly," said the other voice. "You must be thirsty; here, have more tea.'
The liquid bloomed brightly over her tongue, and she smiled. Her enemies were in front of her and her wonderland was behind her, and "Secret, secret," she sang. "I've got a Secret~"
Superboy slammed his fist into the ghost's face, and it did absolutely nothing.
The ghost giggled without sound and reformed around his hand. Suddenly, his face met the ground.
I don't like this, he made sure to mention. This isn't fun.
Just a second longer, M'gann said and Zatanna's spell joined Kaldur's fingers and Robin's winch. The door's moving.
The ghostly girl stuck out her tongue at him. He growled, and she skipped backwards on thin air. At least she's not trying to kill me, he said, and charged.
"Little more, little more," Robin said, and Kaldur grunted, straining, and the door slammed upwards.
It's clear! Robin shouted, shoving Zatanna through after Kaldur. M'gann flew past him. Go, go, go!
He was through by the time Superboy made the door, and Conner threw a punch into the frame, dropping the door in the distorted, terrifying face of a little girl dead, no longer looking playful.
There! Wally called. She's-Artemis!
They were here, dogs with slavering jaws and red eyes, and they were circling and growling and she screamed, and threw up her hands and her army.
There was a hunched figure behind the metal chair, laughing.
I'm gonna tear- Wally started, and I'm gonna-. Suddenly, a line of chess pieces appeared, stretching from wall to wall. White pawns, two bishops, two castles, two knights, protecting the king-and-queen pair hiding in and behind the chair. I-, and Wally blinked. Okay, that's new.
"All right," Kaldur said, and drew his Waterbearers. "Let's play some chess."
Her army was broken.
The hounds were around her now, barking and yipping and tearing, so she grew a tree, clung to the highest branch, and labored for air.
She'd scream, if she thought it would help.
"What are you doing?" a voice asked in her ear, and she jumped and shrieked.
The Cheshire cat was sitting across from her, grey and green stripes thick across its back. It hadn't finished fading into existence quite yet, and the swaying tail was only half there.
"The hounds-" Artemis started, glad to see a familiar face, even if it was a fuzzy one. "The dogs, they-"
"Face them," the cat demanded angrily. It sat up on its tail, and crossed its front paws at her. "You're strong, get down out of this tree and fight."
Artemis clung tighter to the branch. "No, no, I can't-"
"Pull yourself together and tear back into reality already," the cat said, scowling. "Wuss."
"Easy for you to say! You can disappear at will! You can go away and vanish and leave me alone with him, all alone and you only smile and vanish! Why should I listen to you?!" Artemis demanded miserably.
"Because I know best," the cat answered, and flipped over. "Because you know me, and you trust me, and because you forgive me. Because you're strong, and the Snark isn't a Boojum, you see. Now, go!"
And the cat threaded its claws into her fingers, and she let go and fell.
One of the dogs came up right below her, and she braced herself, eyes closed, for the inevitable-
Warm arms wrapped around her, and the dog was moving at a speed she knew, a speed that belonged to Wally.
And now that she was looking for it, one of the dogs was punching and biting and headbutting recklessly, just like Conner did. And one of the dogs was moving with the fluid grace of Kaldur, dancing more than fighting. Yet another slunk out of the shadows, biting and nipping, only to disappear back into the dark. One's eyes glowed with unearthly magic, and the final one was hanging back, taking out enemies without even moving.
"Guys?" she asked hoarsely, watching her friends' forms superimpose themselves over the dogs.
"Artemis," Wally croaked, and hugged her a bit tighter than was probably necessary. "Hey. You scared us."
"Oh," she said. "I didn't-sorry."
"Red Arrow apologizes, too," Robin's voice said. "He'll do it in person later. I promise."
"Got him," Conner interrupted. He did indeed have the Mad Hatter dangling from a fist. Said villain was less than happy.
"Ooh," said Artemis, pushing at Wally's chest. He let her down. "Let me have him. Please."
"Uh," said Wally. "Well. What are you gonna do?"
She reached Conner, and pointed at her chair. "Put him over there? I'm just going to give him exactly what he wanted." She pulled the hat contraption down and shoved his head into it. "A personal Wonderland, all for him."
She walked over to the control panel, trusting Connor to keep him in place while her back was turned.
"We need him alive," Robin observed, making no move to stop her.
"Alive, I can promise," she said, and flipped the switch. "Whole? Not so much."
A soft almost-word went sailing past her on a stream of sparkles and smoke. It wrapped around his head and sunk in through the helmet, and his catatonic smile disappeared.
Artemis turned to look over her shoulder at Zatanna, who shrugged. "He doesn't deserve nice dreams," she said, and Artemis stared at her. Then she took in a breath, and let it out on a giggle.
That turned into a laugh, and she collapsed at the knees. Someone caught her, and arms came around her, and it felt safe in a way Wonderland hadn't. "Y'know what, Zee?" she managed as her eyes slid closed. "I think you might be all right."
And then she fell, slow and gentle. It was okay, though, because she knew there'd be someone there to catch her when she woke up.
Happy Halloween~