Mary's Adventures in Wonderland
Her first session with a patient. Mary's hand were nervously fidgeting and dancing over each other in her lap as she sat outside the room, waiting for the Professor to send her in. Who would it be? Probably one of the more unstable patients; they tended to be the ones that especially caught the Professor's attention. But who? Mary's thoughts were interrupted by the Professor opening the door.
"Come in Mary. He's ready for you." Mary nodded and walked inside, to see the person seated leap to their feet.
"Alice?" he asked and Mary looked him over with wide eyes. He was wearing an oversized patchwork long-coat and the largest hat she'd ever seen. In the hat band was a card that read "In the style 10/6" and underneath the coat was a white shirt, black bowtie, black pants, and boots. Overall he looked distinctly unhinged. But the man didn't seem to care because he was looking over Mary with absolute happiness. "Oh it is you Alice, I knew I'd find you!" the man cried trying to run toward her but was stopped by two TYGER guards grabbing his arms.
"Back Jervis. She is not your Alice. I already gave you Alice," Strange reasoned, the TYGER guards pulling the man back into his seat.
"Your Alice was a fake. This Alice is real," the man muttered, crossing his arms and frowning like a pouting child.
"Well you can't have her, this one is mine. Now, Miss Noble, what do you see in Mr. Tetch?" Strange asked. Mary nodded at the TYGER guards who let the man in the hat go as Mary moved toward him, surveying and scanning him over.
"A land filled with wonder: Rabbits in waistcoats, blue caterpillars, talking dodo birds, playing card people. You are the Mad Hatter," Mary said, smiling ever so slightly at the world she saw in the patient's mind. Talking flowers, cakes that made you grow, tonic that made you shrink, cats that smiled; it was all truly wonderful. The Mad Hatter grinned.
"She remembers!" he exclaimed, trying to move toward her again, only to be pushed right back in his seat.
"She cannot remember that which has never been, Tetch, now hush," Strange barked. He turned back to Mary. "Continue." Mary nodded and looked into his eyes again.
"And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!" Mary quoted, those these words were not from her book but rather from the man's mind. The Hatter's eyes gleamed and he leaned toward her slightly.
"One, two! One, two! and through and through," he added.
"The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!" Mary recited.
"He left it dead."
"And with its head."
"He went galumphing back," the duo chanted together smiling broadly.
"See it is my Alice!" the Hatter cried, jumping up, grabbing her wrists, and spinning her around, causing Mary to laugh with glee. The Professor and his TYGER guards quickly pulled the two apart.
"No. She is not your Alice, she is mine," Strange told the Hatter. Before the Hatter or Mary could protest, Professor Strange said, "I think you've both had enough of Wonderland for today. Guards escort him out."
"I'll see you again soon Alice!" the Hatter promised as the guards dragged him from the room. Mary smiled, but it soon vanished when the Professor grabbed her roughly by the arms.
"You are never going to see that man again, understood?" Mary's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Why? He is nice," she said.
"At first he may appear so but he kills young women who remind him of the girl from Alice in Wonderland, using chemicals and hats or masks to control them before he does so," the Professor explained.
"Actually, the story's called Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." Strange shot her a pointed glare before he moved toward his desk and began filing through some of his folders. Mary thought about what the Professor had just told her and realized something. "Wait, if you knew that he would want to kill me why did you let him meet me?"
"I wanted to know if he could be cured. You looked into his mind you should be able to tell," the Professor stated. Mary nodded and when Strange looked at her expectantly, she sighed and began her analysis.
"Well, the fact that he does not remember his crimes may cause some difficulty. I did not see any trace of malice or malevolence in his mind, only 'Wonderland'. He has accepted 'Wonderland' as his reality rather than face the real world and his actions. If he could come to terms with the fact that Wonderland is not real and accepted the consequences of his crimes then I believe he could be cured." The Professor nodded.
"Good. That'll be all." With that, he waved his hand and Mary was escorted out.
"Professor Strange has ordered me to escort you to him," a TYGER guard told Mary a few days after her encounter with the Hatter. She was sitting in the Library and passing the time reading, as she usually did when the Professor did not need her. Sighing, she closed the neurology book she'd been looking through and got up out of her chair.
"I am coming," she said. The guard nodded and began to lead the way through the halls of the facility. As they made their way through the halls and into the Arkham City Processing Center, Mary began to notice that there was something off about this guard, mostly because the Professor always wanted her to be brought to either his office or the Security Control Center, never the Processing Center. Her senses suddenly went onto overdrive when the guard began to open the doors.
"We are going into the city?" she inquired, getting ready to run if need be.
"Yes," the guard answered.
"But the Professor does not want me going out into the city," Mary said, beginning to back away. The guard turned to her. "You are not working for the Professor," she said. When the guard started to walk toward her, Mary turned and ran, only to run into another TYGER guard, who stabbed something into her neck, that cause Mary's world to go dark.
Ticking. That was the first thing Mary could make out. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, goes the clock. Mary took a deep breath and began to open her eyes slowly. The second thing she realized was that she was not wearing her black dress and pants. Instead, she was wearing an old-fashioned light blue dress with a pinafore with white tights and black shoes. Once Mary had gotten over her odd wardrobe that fit strangely well, she took in her surroundings. Many men dressed in prisoners' uniforms and rabbit masks were seated at the table that she was at the head of, with teapots, cups, cupcakes, a book, and a few metronomes all laid out on the checkered tablecloth. Mary furrowed her brow in confusion. It was obvious that the fake TYGER guard had brought her here but where exactly was here?
"Oh, it is so wonderful to see you again Alice!" a voice cried and Mary looked down the table to see a short man in an oversized patchwork long-coat and the largest hat she'd ever seen.
"Mister Hatter?" Mary asked, her heart beat picking up in apprehension as she started to realize what was going on.
"Oh you remember me! I'm so glad!" the Hatter exclaimed.
"What is happening? Where am I?" Mary inquired, turning around in her seat as she got a better lock at the room. It was very old-fashioned looking and reminded Mary of the interior of the Wonder Tower. Books littered the floor and paintings and bookshelves covered the walls. If it hadn't been for the goons in the rabbit masks and the fact that she'd been brought here by a serial killer, Mary would've liked this place. The Hatter responded by climbing onto the table and walking toward her.
"Why you're in Wonderland Alice!" the Hatter said, spreading his arms out wide, and Mary smiled nervously, not wanting to give away the fact that she knew who exactly he was now. The Mad Hatter jumped down from the table and kneeled next to her, taking her hands in his own. "That nasty bandersnatch tried to keep you away from me. But we will never be separated again I promise. Now come, it's tea time and I wouldn't want our drinks to get cold," he said, sitting in the chair next to Mary's. Mary nodded and the Hatter poured her a cup. Mary was about to take a sip when she remembered how the Mad Hatter was famous for his chemicals. Not wanting to upset the Hatter, she pretended to take a sip, which made the Hatter grin broadly. After taking a few more pretend sips, Mary put down her cup and looked at the Hatter.
"What do you do with the fake Alices?" she inquired. The Hatter paled and hastily put down his cup.
"Oh th-that really doesn't matter now Alice," the Hatter stuttered. "All that matters is that you're here now."
"But Mister Hatter, I really am curious as to what happened to them," Mary maintained.
"Well, let's just that the Queen of Hearts takes care of them," the Mad Hatter smiled. Mary gulped and pushed her chair away from the table.
"Mister Hatter I must be going. Tea time is over and I have an appointment with the White Rabbit and you know how he detests tardiness," Mary said, moving to get up, but was stopped by the Hatter grabbed her arm.
"But tea time's all the time Alice… and you are mine now," the Mad Hatter, looking much more unhinged than Mary had ever seen him. "Not the White Rabbit's, not the Cheshire Cat's, or anyone else's. You're mine. Now and forever." The next thing Mary knew, she was bolting for the door, trying to pull it open but failing due to the lock. Mary was pulled away by two of the Hatter's rabbit thugs. "NO!" Mary shouted, kicking and screaming with all her might. The rabbits suddenly pushed her to the ground but before she could get up the Hatter was on top of her, holding her arms down. "Get off, get off, please get off of me!" she screamed trying.
"Oh Alice, why do you fight me?" the Hatter asked, trying to hold her down.
"I am not Alice! Alice is not real!"
"No. No, she is real, you are Alice," the Hatter repeated.
"No. I am not Alice."
"LIAR! You nasty little liar! You are Alice!" the Mad Hatter shouted.
"I. Am. Not. A. LIAR!" Mary shouted, finally managing to push him off of her. She immediately jumped to her feet and slid over the table, causing the tablecloth to be pulled off and the teapots, cups, and other accessories to tumble to the floor.
"You… you're a fake," the Hatter faltered. Mary paused. She was about to try and comfort him, to try and make him understand, when he suddenly exploded. "YOU LIED TO ME! YOU LIED! YOU WICKED LITTLE LIAR!" The Hatter screamed, chasing Mary around the table. "And do you know what we do to liars?" he asked, grabbing something from under the table causing Mary to pale.
"No."
"Yes, not-Alice. Off with your head!" he yelled, a knife in hand. Mary tried to run, but the rabbit men stopped her and pushed her into a corner. The Mad Hatter, towering over her with a manic grin on his face, raised the knife but was interrupted by the sound of something slamming against the door. Once, twice, and one the third time the door burst open and several TYGER guards burst into the room.
"Tetch, put down the knife! Now!" Mary used the Mad Hatter's temporary distraction to push him away from her. The TYGER guards quickly disarmed him and put him in handcuffs.
"No! NO! Stop! Oh, you dreadful playing cards!" he shouted as he was dragged out.
"All clear Professor Strange. She's safe," the leader said into his communicator. The Professor quickly made his way over to Mary, grabbing her roughly when he reached her.
"Mary! What on earth were you thinking?" Strange shouted at her.
"It was not my fault. He used a TYGER guard to get me! I tried to run away," Mary pointed out. The Professor shook his head, sighed, pushed her away, and rubbed his forehead.
"Well, I suppose I'll have to give you a backup plan in the event of an incident like this happening again," Strange muttered to himself, looking over the broken tea cups scattered all over the floor. Mary looked at him.
"You are planning on putting me in the same room with absolute psychopaths again," Mary stated, disbelieving. The Professor did not answer, apparently too busy talking with the Captain of the TYGER guards to really even notice her incredulity. She sighed angrily. Which was better: the eternal darkness and boredom of living in her cell forever, or living as Strange's pet and getting attacked for it? Mary considered. She looked around the room she'd almost been killed in. She'd wait a little while, then she'd decide what she'd prefer.