Hey there, I guess I'll start with the disclaimer. I do not in any way own Adverntures in Wonderland or any the the characters that appear in this story. It's just a fanfiction. (A fanfiction is a story written by a fan! Who knew?)

Anyway, this takes place... probably after the last episode so Alice is like twelve or thirteen here, let's say twelve. But really this is a sequal to the popular "Copy-Catter Hatter" episode. As much as I love that episode, I really thought that C.C. Hatter had so much potential as a villain. So I decided to take him to the next level of EVIL!!! ^^

Also, as a heads-up, there is going to be some Hatter/Hare slash in this fic. Not much, just a little to apease the fangirl inside me. However, I want nonslash fans to be able to read this too so I'll tone it down. Another thing, the characters are going to be somewhat OOC but I'll still try to be faithful to the wonderful portayals that these marvelous actors have come up with for these guys.

So yeah, I'm done ranting so I guess you can start reading the story. That is if you haven't already skipped over my gobbledygook and have alread started reading. Hey, that's fine too!

The sky met the horizon at a fine line, almost like it would in a child's drawing. The grey overcast from above really seemed to touch the sandy ground. A lone figure walked at their connection. He was dressed head-to-foot in black and sitting precariously on his head was a top hat with a tag that read, "10/6." The road he was following went on and on as if all there was no place that it would ever lead to. The surrounding lands were bleak, filled with sand and the occasional bush. Every now and then one would see a small tree growing from the ground that would hardly produce any shade and was likely to die off soon anyway.

But so it was in Hinterland.

The manner in which the man in black walked had a slinking motion to it. He moved slowly, dragging his feet on the ground- out to his sides at first and then in front of him, automatically, as if it was a habit. He was currently stoking his red mustache out of sheer boredom.

He really hated this place.

Presently he came upon a lone building. He wasn't sure if it had always been there or if it had just popped out of the sand but he didn't much care. It was the first sign of civilization he'd seen for miles. Coming closer he saw that it was a tea bar. At the top was a sign with "Eat at Bill's" painted in faint green letters with a lizard coiled around the "B."

"Cute," the man muttered and entered the place. Inside, a row of tables lined the right side and the bar was on the left. It was dimly lit with the use of lamps that hung too low from the ceiling so that if one were to not watch where they were going they would hit their head. A television-like device known as a Crystal was stationed at the back of the room. The bar must have had bad reception because the program was fuzzy. It wasn't much to watch anyway, just a bunch of lobsters dancing a ballet. The man in black sat at a barstool where a Sheep was cleaning the countertop.

"Hey there," the Sheep said cheerfully, "Can I get you anything?"

The man shrugged and looked over and the figure a couple stools away. It was a Gryphon, snoring loudly in his sleep.

"What'd he have?" the man asked.

"Earl Grey with raspberry and a shot of lemon on the rocks."

"I'll take it," he replied, not even thinking about how it might taste. He couldn't help but copy what others did; it was just how he rolled.

"Yo Bill!" The man in black turned on his stool to see a Duck sitting at one of the tables with a Lory bird. It was the Duck that had spook. "Turn it on Channel 42 Bill! The Mad Hatter and March Hare are supposed to be on Mile High News today!"

The man froze. Surely it couldn't be the same…

"Yes," the Lory agreed, "They're announcing their new invention!"

A green lizard entered the room from the kitchen. He was dressed in a brown vest with a matching hat and around his waist was a white apron with the same "Eat at Bill's" sign that was on the front of the bar. Bill took a remote control from the bar table and changed the station. There was a segment about the Duchess's new shoes. Everyone in the bar groaned.

"Maybe they'll be on later," Bill said hopefully. He then ducked as a tea cup zoomed past his head followed by a cry of, "Pepper! MORE PEPPER!!!"

"Oh dear," Bill muttered, "She's in another one of her moods." And with that, he dashed back into the kitchen to calm the screaming woman.

Next to the man in black, the Gryphon chuckled in his sleep, "Yup, there goes Bill."

"He always does seem to go, doesn't he? He hardly ever comes." The man in black leaned back in his stool to see the other speaker. It was a turtle –sort of– with the head, tail and hooves of a calf. The creature had a melancholy appearance as if being sad was its fancy. Like its companion, the turtle seemed to be sleeping.

"Here's your drink, sir," the Sheep set the cup of tea in front of the man in black and walked off. The man blinked at it, he had forgotten that he'd even ordered a drink. He reached out to grasp the handle of the cup but stopped when he heard the anchor on the Crystal:

"Now let's go to the field to find out more about the upcoming National Wonderland Invention Convention with Takila Mockingbird. Takila?"

The fuzzy screen showed a man dressed in white with a paper hat perched on his head. A large, red bowtie sat crookedly around his neck.

"Thank you Jack," Takila adjusted his bowtie before continuing, "I'm here, in the heart of Wonderland, at the home of Mr. Mad Hatter, along with his friend the March Hare." Here, the camera zoomed out, showing a rather tall red-headed man dressed in a suit, much like the one the man in black was wearing but purple, and a grey top hat with a tag that read, "10/6." Next to him stood a brown hare who was wearing glasses and a brightly-colored jacket with matching pants. Both of them had dorky grins on their faces as if they weren't sure how to act.

The man in black scowled. He recognized and loathed them both- especially Hatter. His second-cousin, twice-removed had been the reason why he was banished from Wonderland and cast off into this pit hole that was Hinterland. After being exiled, the man had gone back to his family. Unfortunately, because of his disgrace, he was removed… for a third time. The man thought a moment and decided that this would make him Hatter's his second-cousin, thrice-removed.

"Mr. Hatter," Takila began, "I understand that you and Mr. Hare here are entering in the inventor's contest at the Invention Convention this week." The reporter held his microphone in front of Hatter's face.

"Uh, that's correct," Hatter said simply. Hare nodded in agreement.

"And, as I'm sure all of Wonderland is wondering, just what is your invention?"

"Can't tell yah," Hatter replied.

"Why not?"

"Hare, tell the man." Hatter stepped back to let Hare explain.

"We can't tell you, Mr. Mockingbird," Hare put a hand on his hip and a finger in the air, "because we're not even sure what the heck it is." He let his hands fall to his sides with an exasperated chuckle.

Takila looked at them both, dumbfounded, "What?"

"You see our invention is so inventive," Hare continued, "That it invented itself. We just put it together and made it brightly colored with a paint-by-numbers guide."

"How true that is," Hatter put in proudly.

The reporter blinked, "Okay… is there anything else you want to add?"

Hare shrugged, "Well, not really just…" Suddenly he began waving to the camera excitedly, "Hi Mom!"

Hatter followed suit, "Hi Hare's mom!"

Takila Mockingbird sighed and turned back to the camera, "Um… back to you Jack."

The man in black put his face in his hand. Of course those buffoons would invent something and not even know what it was. They're going to look like idiots if it does something irrelevant. He blinked, thinking about what would happen if the mysterious invention turned out to be something useful…

The man stroked his mustache and a grimacing grin crept onto his face. Hatter's one joy in the world besides tea is inventing and designing. I tried copying his hat designs once before. Maybe instead of just copying my dear Mad Hatter, I could try…

"Hey Mock," the Gryphon was awake now, turning to his turtle-like companion, "aren't we performing at the Invention Convention?"

"I think so…" the Mock Turtle sighed, "I'm sure we'll mess it up like always though. Mine really is a sad life."

"Oh bread and butter!" the Sheep exclaimed, "You have a lovely singing voice, Mock." When the turtle didn't reply, he turned to give the man in black his bill. "Here you go sir— what?"

The man in black was gone. In his place was an empty barstool with an untouched cup which held down a note scribbled in almost illegible handwriting. It read:

"Now don't be mad, my dear Mr. Hatter, imitation is the sincerest way to flatter… HAGH!!! —C.C.H."

Hurray for chapter one! I've got to say, I'm really proud of that tea bar. Mostly because I love Bill. He was one of my favorite characters in the book but you never really hear about him. Poor Bill.