A broken window, and fragments of glass. Glass everywhere. Broken, broken, broken! Why broken!? Who the heck would break and bash and smash and sonofabatchhowtheellcouldhedothis!? Words that only express horror, and horror that could only produce pain.
The angel turned on his heel and snatched up his dear Alice…his dead Alice…she simply must be dead! To be alive would be a dishonor, to dishonor the angel would be sin, and to sin the angel's prohibitions would be the ultimate shame! A ringing in his ears and a mind melting into a mess…
WHY MUST HE COME!? WHY NOW? He pulled his sweet Alice from her chair, but the shadow was approaching…the egg man! Dumpty!
"Always breaking, never fixing!" the angel screamed, pointing at the shards of glass that lay at their feet.
"Jervis…" Dumpty whispered, shaking his head.
Humpty Dumpty broke through the wall…
Black he wore, and tall and leering. Pointy ears and those eyes…pure white, as if hidden behind some sort of visor…and in his hand, a black staff, at least six feet in length…
Humpty Dumpty sought the angel's fall…
The egg man held the staff up, pointing it at the angel and the woman in his arms. By now, the assembled guests were standing from their chairs, their faces confident and set as they all faced the dreaded visitor who stepped over the shattered glass of his vandalism.
All the king's horses and all the king's men…
They were all crackling their knuckles, all leering with bitter distaste…and the angel was silently egging them on…egging…haha…egg, yes…the egg man. He had to be broken some more…
"Is she dead, Jervis?" he asked in a soft voice. Soft, assured, peaceful, even. Not on edge. Sure of everything that was to happen, annoying confident as always. He must be broken!
"What did you call me!?" the angel seared, and his guests made such noises. Hissing and spitting and growling. Like animals. Yes, animals.
The dark one moved quickly, running forward with the staff at the ready. Immediately, the five guests on the dark one's side moved as well, while the angel made a move for the nearby door. He made such a pace with fiery intent to get to the door, his Alice's head banging against the side of the table as he ran. The other guests at the table began to snatch up knives, just as the first five of the small army made clash against the vile egg man.
The staff struck forward, forced into the cranium of the nearest attacker, a woman who had punched out at him, her eyes crossed, ever so slightly. Of course, the dark one knew that they were not in their right minds. The hats! As she fell, her hat did not slide off. It was attached to her! He began to back away as the crowd reached a mass of point and ten soldiers met him with screams and curses…
SHALL NOT FREAKING PUT HIM BACK TOGETHER AGAIN! NO! NO NO NO!
Run angel, run as fast as you can, and don't drop dear Alice…how did he find me!? HOW!?
"It's not fair!" the angel, or perhaps a demon, screamed loudly. He was on the stairway of the boarding house and was already making his way onto the lower floor. He could hear kicking and screaming, banging and crunching above, and it was to speculation as to the wounds of the egg or the pain of his beloved guests.
But no matter. The door was there, and his destination was set. The demon carried his Alice to the front door and kicked it open. And when he did, his heart stopped. The Red Knight!
He was standing there, just outside the door, waiting, a combat stance prepared for the coming of the demon. Young and daring, the Red Knight stared into his eyes as the demon became frozen in place…
"Give her to me, Tech," the Knight demanded. "Now!"
The demon saw something behind the Knight, situated next to the sidewalk beyond. Long and sleek, black and well armored. The steed! The steed of the Red Knight! He simply must have it! The Knight, however, saw where the demon was looking, and wagged his finger.
"I don't think so. You release that woman and submit. Bat ran you down here, huh? Well, that's why I was waiting. Just in case you decided to run. You're not going to get away, Jervis."
"WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" the demon cried, losing himself for a moment, and that moment of stock still fury was all that was needed. The Red Knight moved quickly, bending down onto one knee and forcing a strike upward, his hand bent back to expose the wrist in an uppercut. The force of it! Oh, damn, the force of it! The hard rock of a strike almost seemed to become one with the demon-no, Jervis Tetch's- stomach. Even as he began to fly backwards, the Red Knight- that wondrous Robin- snatched Ramira from the Hatter's arms and pulled her away. Tetch hit the floor of the lobby room hard, the wind knocked from him as if he had been hit by a small boulder. Shall he test if that was the genuine feel of such an event? Could boulders kill? Perhaps they could break eggs. Yes…a boulder…
Robin came forward, but only as slowly as he dared. He still had the woman in his arms, and he dare not drop her. Where are you, Bruce? He could hear quite a commotion going on up stairs…
Bruce moved quickly, diving forward into the table itself, leaping upon its fine cloth and tasty arrangements as three knife wielding guests came after him. Something about the mind control device in their hats gave them a strangely powerful edge. They seemed immune to pain, immune to fear, even. They were an unstoppable force, and the only way to put an end to it was to damage them to the point of no walking. But these people were innocent, and he could only do so much damage before he had to hold back. The Hatter had known this…and loved the thought of it. Insurance, in case of an unexpected arrival to his little tea party…
He had only managed to bring down three of them, having damaged their legs to the point where they were mindless groveling around on the floor, their zombie-like expressions eerie as they came for him. Seven guests were climbing onto the table now, which was surprising sturdy for the masses upon it, all of them yielding knives and forks, even. Forks, for the lives of them!
He had a Batarang in one hand, the staff in the other, but just how much good would they do? They were coming on either side, and moving fast. Now, Bruce, move now! Two off them on either side, a tall man and a tall woman, both made dive the knives in hand, but Batman-of course, Batman, never Humpty- was already moving forward, diving off of the table. Just as he hit the floor, he twisted around in place, pressing a button built into the side of the Batarang as he did. A small light upon it flashed a bright green, and he sighed, offering a small prayer. Please let this work…
The crowd of seven were all standing above him, looking down at them with murder in their eyes.
"Here," he offered darkly, and without anymore hesitation he threw the Batarang into the middle of the crowd, the object striking chest first into a finely dressed, elderly man. The moment the impact came, the rupture triggered a release mechanism within the Batarang. A charged ignited within, and released tiny valves containing chemicals, so as for an immediate reaction. Ionic waves!
A short burst of blue and electricity scattered in every direction, forming a sort of ring explosion that sailed throughout the room. Bruce threw his cape over him at once, the soft Strocterial fibers built into the suit a promise of shield against the short burst of biological ionization. He heard them fall, one by one, thump thump thump down onto hard wood. After waiting a moment, he took a breath, and then removed the cape, turning around to survey the damage.
The seven drones lay out cold upon the table, their faces filled with shock from the sudden burst of electricity that had taken them. Bruce looked behind him, and saw that the other three that had been earlier incapacitated were also laying still like stone. But he had to be sure! He raised an arm and began to tap away at the mini-computer built into his gauntlet.
"Check heart rates in ten feet diameter," he spoke into a small microphone along the computer's side. At once, the computer glowed orange, and scannings indicated that they all were in fact still living, as no negative reds crossed within view upon the screen. "Thank you, Lord…" he whispered, punching the floor in triumph. He stood up now, taking a deep breath. "And now for you, Tetch…"
He ran for the door, out onto the landing where he jumped over the railing, gliding down towards the wall of the lobby below. He struck out a foot and kicked hard, propelling himself down onto the floor of the lobby, landing right before Robin and the woman he held in his arms, still unmoving…never moving again…
"Now's not the time for showing off, is it?" Richard asked, raising an eyebrow at his mentor. Bruce chose not to reply, but instead began to examine Ramira. "She's gone, Bruce…I've already checked…"
"Yes, I know…" Bruce said, softly, as he brushed back her hair. "But how did she die, that's my question?" He pressed a button on his staff, and at once the thing retracted, both ends of the weapon shooting inward. He pocketed the short cylinder and produced something else: a sphere shaped glass. He glanced down at Jervis, who lay staring up at the two of them, dazed and bruised. But such hate in his eyes. So much hate! "Jervis, do you want to tell me what you did?"
"Away…with you…focking egg…"
Richard raised his eyes. "I think we should call it in, now," he said, not taking his eyes off of the madman. "His friends?"
"He had quite a bit up there, but they're all sleeping. For now…" Bruce pressed the glass sphere against the woman's cheek, and said clearly, "Scan."
The sphere flashed several different colors at once, and numbers began to flash in green, projected by a small device built into the top interior. 4, 7, 7, 7, 4, 7… it was still making for a deduction. 4 and 7 meant two things: Malignant neoplasm or sepsis. After a moment, the sphere indicated a 7. Sepsis. Blood poisoning. Bruce shook with fury when he read the number, and he turned towards the Hatter, still keeping the sphere pressed against the woman's cheek.
"What kind of poison? You can tell me or this device will but I'd rather hear it from you…"
"What does it matter? My sweet Alice has been freed…freed…" The demon, that "angel", the foul Mad Hatter stood to his feet, Bruce stepping forward, ready for a strike.
"Robin, take her back to the car and get her to the hospital. I don't think there's anything we can do for her but the sphere will give us some intel on what he used," Bruce told his companion, and Richard nodded at once, stepping towards the door.
"I'll phone in the authorities, Bat," he replied, pulling the door fully open with his foot, and he vanished out onto the street. Bruce kicked the door behind him, slamming it shut. Now he and the Hatter stood together, shrouded in the dimness of hardly lit hall. The only light source was a glassed in lamp that seemed to be dying. In this darkness, Bruce could almost see a redness illuminating outward from the Hatter's eyes as the madman glowered at him with such hate.
Pocketing the device, which already was sending in a signal to the Batcave with data, Bruce pointed a dark finger at the madman in the dark. "Make a move," he warned. It was a warning, and nothing less. Three words were all that were needed to convey the promise that was set with Jervis Tetch's name.
"She's free, Eggman… so free. I set her free, and do you know what? I enjoyed it. That tea of hers was special. My special tea… ha! I do love using that pun…"
"Why did she need to be set free?"
"BECAUSE!" Jervis screamed, his eyes widening madly. "She belongs in Wonderland, needs to be in Wonderland, away from this boring world, down the rabbit focking hole! I sent her away from this boring reality, into the dream! INTO THE FOCKING DREAM!"
Bruce shook his head. "She's dead, Tetch! Dead! How is that a dream for her? How is that a life!?"
"We all must die, Eggman. If we don't, we simply fade into a nightmare, but the dream is the true needed essence. If we don't have that essence, we melt. And if we melt-"
"Enough. You're sounding like Victor…"
"Zsaaz, you mean? Oh, ho ho, no, Eggman. I'm not deluded to the sense where I believe people must be killed to be set free, no…no, no, no…I believe that Alice must be set free. She's everywhere. All around and around….she has so many lives. Omnipresent, as ever, and I need to set her all free. All of her has to enter the Rabbit Hole, because if not, if not, then she will neer truly be free. So I find her, again and again and again, and I free her… can you not tell me that I am as much a hero as you?"
"No…no, Jervis, because some people don't desire to be free, not in that way. And you…you are a murderer. Evil. Far less than the Hatter you pretend to be."
Jervis gasped, and he began to hyperventilate on the spot. Pointing a shaking finger at the dark warrior before him, his breath caught hard as he gasped, "YOU TAKE THAT BACK YOU MISERABLE SACK OF SH-"
Bruce propelled himself forward, running at Jervis like a wild boar on the prey. Jervis turned on the spot and began to run, but Bruce was already upon him, his fist sinking into the back of the madman's head, and the Hatter fell forward, hitting the carpet face first. Bruce wasted no time in sending another strike to the man's cranium, and the Hatter did not move anymore.
"I'm sorry, Jervis…but you're a murderer. What else could have happened?"
Bruce sighed, leaning against the wall with his head bowed. How could it have come to this? And how far would it always go? His mind went to Richard, already speeding for the hospital with another dead victim of the Hatter's in tow? And he thought of Alfred, who had warned him prior to this apprehension that the Hatter truly did have a euphoria for death? In a way, the idea was mirror to Victor Zsaaz, and he should have known that Alfred was going to be right: that there would be no hope to save the woman. And what of the people upstairs? All of them would awake, and he would ensure that they were freed of his mind control, but what had they experienced in being forced into submission? Had they sat there and applauded the woman's death? Supported the Hatter's ideas? It was all maddening, and it was only going to be worse, in the end, when he continued his pursuit. Because he would free himself, as always. Something would happen. A Joker on the prowl…mind's destroyed by Scarecrow's experimentations…and Bruce could only watch as it repeated and he recycled the acts.
He glanced over at the Hatter. "Jervis…how long will it be…until I fall down the Rabbit Hole?"