Disclaimer- I don't own Batman the Animated Series. Don't you think the Mad Hatter would be in more episodes if I did?
A/N- Thanks everyone for the reviews. You guys rock!
Chapter Thirteen
Storm Day
When Alice woke up that Sunday morning she noticed that there was something strange about her surroundings. She wiped her blurry eyes and then after a moment of thought she realized what it was.
It was still dark.
Frowning she turned to the table that was next to the bed to turn the light on. However as she did nothing happened. Getting up slowly she made her way over to the window, it seemed impossible that she hadn't noticed but the storm was still going on.
After going to the try the other lights in her room, Alice came to the conclusion that the storm had knocked out the power. She got dressed as quickly as she could in the dark room. After a quick search of the room she discovered Dinah curled up under one of the beds sleeping. Only a cat could sleep through a storm, she thought with a smile as she put out some food for Dinah when she woke up.
With that done she went over the window again. The storm was still going strong and though Alice was no weather person she didn't think this was normal. Though really she had no idea what was normal with storms. All she knew was that she didn't like them and she hated being alone in them.
Thus when Harley came knocking on the door to ask if she was ready to get breakfast she almost sighed in relief.
"Powers out!" Was the first thing Harley declared as Alice walked out the door.
"No really, we never would have noticed." Ivy said sarcastically as the went down the hallway.
Harley however just ignored the sarcasm as she always did. "I love when the power goes out. We can have so much fun! It'll be like a party!"
Alice wasn't really sure how the idea of party was connected to a power outage but decided not to ask. With Harley sometimes it was just better not to.
-
As they made their way down the stairs, the three woman happened upon two other people going in the same direction.
"Hey Johnathon, Jervis!" Harley called out running after them. "Wait for us!"
The two men stopped in the dark hallway and turned around waiting for them to catch up.
"Hello." Crane replied with a crisp nod. "I take it none of you three have Achluophobia."
There was a pause as everyone else looked over at him.
"That would be a fear of the dark." Crane continued in a dry voice.
"Nah." Harley replied with a wave of her hand. "We don't got that."
"We also don't got grammar." Ivy muttered to herself as they continued walking.
-
After many a wrong turn in the dark and a unanimous decision that Harley was not allowed to be in front anymore, they managed to make their way downstairs.
"I'm telling you mom we're going to lose it all." As they entered the dark lobby Alice could make out the voice of the cook talking to someone. The two of them turned around to see the group there.
"Good morning everyone." The older woman said with a smile. "I'm sorry but as you have noticed we're suffering a slight power outage because of the storm." The woman had black hair with streaks of grey in it, pulled back in a bun. She also had a pair of glasses hanging on a chain around her neck. She was dressed in simple practical clothes and seemed to have a no nonsense attitude about her. She reminded Alice strongly of a teacher she'd had when she was younger.
"Do you know when the power will be back up?" Ivy asked the woman, who shook her head.
"We'd normally use the generator but it's too dangerous to send anyone out in the storm just now."
"And the longer the power's out, the more food we lose." Lorina replied. "Which is why I think we should have ice-cream for breakfast."
There was moment where everyone looked at the cook strangely.
"Alright, ice-cream!" Harley exclaimed after a moment and Lorina smirked as she looked over at her mother.
"See I told you she'd like the idea."
"Oh course." Mrs. Liddell replied dryly. "Just go and get them something to eat Lorina."
"Fine mother..." Lorina replied with a sigh before turning back to the guests. "Well let's go."
In Gotham power was out in most of the city and only the essential services like the hospitals, shelters and fire stations were allowed to use the generators.
Fortunately the police department was deemed important enough to get a small one as well. They were using the most of their power trying to locate the source of the broadcast.
"Well any news yet?" Gordon asked as he walked into the room. They'd been working around the clock since this storm started and they still hadn't found the man.
"Sorry sir, none yet." One of the tech guys replied as he looked away from the glowing computer screen. "Hoskins wanted to have a word with you though. He's working on that profile you wanted and has a theory about this guy."
Gordon nodded. "Okay, keep at it and I want news the minute you find something."
Leaving the room he made his way over the small room they had put away for profiling in the department. Usually they would be working with some of the doctors from Arkham but with this storm they hadn't been able to. With all the escapes from Arkham recently their men were spreed thin enough as it was.
"Hoskins." The commissioner said as he walked into the room. "What do you have?"
The man looked up from the video he was looking at. It was a taped copy of the weather man's threat. His notes were spreed out on a table in front of him.
"I have a theory about this guy sir." He said as Gordon walked over. "Well two really."
"Well what are they?"
"Well first of all." The man replied pointing over to the frozen figure of the man on the TV. "If we take this guy at face value then I'd say that with the obvious name we'd start looking into TV weather men. He could be after revenge of some sort. Compensation." The man shrugged, "maybe that's why he wants all that money.
Gordon nodded. "I'll have someone check up on that. Your other theory?"
"Yes well that's we're it gets complicated." He pulled something out of a file folder. "It's possible, as we've never seen this guy before, that he's being controlled by an outside source."
Gordon took the offered paper and looked down at it. "That is a possibility." He admitted after a moment.
"We know he's escaped." Hoskins said nodding. "And that is what he's known for."
Gordon nodded. "Very well. Keep looking Hoskins and I want you to keep both possibility's in mind. I'll get someone to work on the list of weather men." He tossed the paper down on the table. The page was a part of a file from a inmate at Arkham. The Mad Hatter to be precise...
At the Blue Moon Inn only Harley and Lorina had opted to eat the slightly melted ice cream. Everyone else managed to find something else.
After they finished eating Lorina and her boyfriend went to back to work in the kitchen. Harley had decided that the rest of them were going to spend the day together. Needless to say not all of them were pleased by this.
"I have research to do you know." Crane replied folding his arms.
"It can wait." Harley replied with a dismissive wave. "Come on. I have an idea on what to do!"
There was a pause and everyone looked at her, waiting.
.
"Harley...?" Ivy hinted. "What's the idea?"
"We can play...Scattergories!"
There was an almost deafening silence.
.
"No."
"Not a chance."
Crane and Ivy both replied at the same time.
Alice looked over to Jervis questioningly as the three people began to argue. "Don't they like that game?"
Jervis shook his head. "We have all made the mistake of playing that game with Miss Quinzelle at least once at Arkham. She has a tendency to make up words." He smiled. "And the moral of that is when playing a game with an insane woman it is wise not to pick a game that is scatter brained as well"
Alice smiled. "So you're the Duchess now?"
Jervis's smile grew as she caught the reference he'd been making to Alice in Wonderland.
He nodded and then continued.
"I dare say you're wondering why I don't put my arm round your waist." This surprised Alice for a moment before she realized he was still quoting. " The reason is, that I'm doubtful about the temper of your flamingo. Shall I try the experiment." He said this last sentence as more of a statement but Alice remembered this part as well so she continued.
"He might bite."
"Very true." Jervis nodded solemnly but there was a twinkle in his eye. "Flamingos and mustard both bite. And the moral of that is- 'Birds of a feather flock together."
"Only mustard isn't a bird."
"Right, as usual. What a clever way you have of putting things."
"It's a mineral, I think."
.
By this time Ivy, Crane and Harley were giving them both extremely odd looks. The three had stopped arguing and were trying to make out what was going on.
"Why are they talking about mustard?" Harley whispered to Ivy. "And what was that about a flamingo?"
"Tetch is quoting Carroll again." Crane remarked dryly and then cleared his throat to get the man's attention. "Jervis!"
Both Alice and Jervis looked over to see the odd looks they were getting.
"And people think I'm crazy." Harley said with a shake of her head.
Alice smiled, it was probably a good thing that they had stopped. Unlike Jervis she didn't have the entire book memorized. Though she had to admit, their conversation had been...fun.
Crane sighed. "And I thought it was only Tetch's brain that lived in Wonderland." He looked over at Harley. "So may we leave now or have you come to the conclusion that you cheat to much to play Scattergories?"
Harley stuck out her tongue. "Fine. But what are we going to do then?"
"Let's go see if we can find enough light and we can play a board game or something." Ivy replied. "But not Scattergories." She said looking over at Harley.
The woman just stuck out her tongue again as they got up.
-
After managing to pry Harley away from the Scattergories board the group looked into the inn's stash of games.
"Well it can't be Pictionary" Crane noted looking over at Jervis. "Someone would find some way to make everything relate to Alice in Wonderland."
"I guess that means Scrabble's out too." Harley sighed.
"Neither of you can play that." Ivy said dryly. "You both make up words."
"For the last time. Brillig is a real word!" Jervis protested. "It means four in the afternoon."
"Maybe in Wonderland." Ivy muttered.
Alice was watching the arguments going back and forth. It was clear that many of them had been had many times before and most likely at Arkham.
It was around noon and the storm was still going strong. By this time Billy, like many other inhabitants of Gotham, were getting annoyed at what they perceived to be the police's lack of action. He looked out his apartment window irritated.
He couldn't work as none of Gotham had any power. The lack of power meant that the food in his fridge was slowly going bad. He had nothing to do as the TV also needed power. Oh and his girlfriend was probably still being held captive by a psychotic criminal. All in all, this wasn't one of his better days.
He slumped down in his chair. There was no way that the police would listen to him about Alice with that weather man destroying the city. And even after the storm stopped everyone would be so busy putting the city back together that they wouldn't listen then either.
No, once the storm was over he'd find Alice himself. After all he'd helped rescue her once before. Somehow he'd find her and she'd be happy to see him. Surely this time she'd realize that the only thing stopping them from being happy was the way she was acting. If she only forgot about that stupid Hatter he knew they could be happy. He gazed down at the engagement ring sitting on the table and sighed. He took a drink of his beer, it was warm but drinking it was able to help him take his mind off things, something that would be really good right now.
After a while the only people still arguing were Ivy and Jervis. Though Jervis didn't argue much, he had always been suborn when it came to his opinions on whether or not the words by Carroll could be considered real words.
Harley had dropped out of the argument a while ago as she had located a pack of cards and was staring dreamily at the Joker card.
"What word are they on now?" Alice looked over from her seat on the couch to see Crane come in the room. He had left a while back and now came and sat down next to Alice.
"I think it's frabjous" Alice replied looking over at him and he nodded.
"They're probably going to go through all the words of the Jabberwocky." He shook his head. "Miss. Isley really should know better then this. No one will ever make Tetch believe that Carroll's words are anything but real."
Alice nodded. "That sounds like him."
There was a pause for a moment. Alice wasn't sure what to make of Crane. All she knew of him was from the media. Crane looked over at her suddenly and held out his hand. "I don't believe we've been formally introduced. I am Professor Johnathon Crane."
"Alice Pleasance." Alice replied shaking his hand.
"Well that's done." He said after they shook. "Now there's something I've been meaning to ask you. When did you first meet Tetch?"
"Umm, when I started working with him. It was a couple of years ago I think."
Crane nodded. "Very well." He must have noticed the curious expression on her face as he continued. "I was rather hoping you had known him earlier on. He's always rather vague about his earlier years."
"Sorry." Alice replied.
"That's quite alright. I dare say I'll find out one day." He looked over at Ivy and Jervis. "Now I do believe that we should separate those two. I doubt this argument is ever going to end any time soon."
"I guess but how?"
Crane smirked. "Easy. We create a diversion."
Alice looked a little skeptical. "What sort of diversion."
"The simplest of course." Crane replied getting off the couch. "Just be ready to catch."
Alice wasn't really sure what she was going to have to catch so she watched the man closely. He was directly behind Jervis at the moment and in a fluid motion grabbed the man's hat and tossed it to Alice.
Alice was so surprised that she only just managed to catch the hat.
Jervis noticed the absence of his hat immediately and turned to see Crane standing there.
"Hello Jervis." The man said as though everything were perfectly normal. "How are you today?"
-
Jervis attempted in vain to get Crane to reveal the location of his hat. His back was still turned to Alice however so he didn't notice her holding it. Ivy had shrugged and went over to talk to Harley since the argument was over.
Alice was looking curiously at the hat in her hands. She had seen Jervis wear it, both before and after he'd been sent to Arkham. However she had never actually held it before. It looked like a normal hat, aside from the 10/6 card that was sticking out of the band.
As she flipped it over and looked inside it though she noticed that there was a red band on the inside as well. She bit her lip as she looked at it, she knew what it probably was.
There seemed to be something stuck behind the band, the band appeared to be holding it in place.
It looked like a picture of some sort. Her curiosity getting the better of her once again Alice looked over to see that Jervis was still trying to get a straight answer from Crane. Feeling slightly nervous she reached into the hat to take the picture out...
Aren't I evil? Yes I am. :) I'm sure you can all guess though, to the picture Alice is about to discover...
I hope you liked the chapter and remember to leave a review!