Hey, everyone! Hope you're all having a good December month. First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting sooner. While I did return from what I had to go to for a month, I couldn't respond for a week because I got sick. But don't worry. I'm doing a lot better now. So, to make it up to all of you, I am going to post two chapters here. If you like them both and want to see more, then please post a review in saying so.
Now, back to our mad story!
Remember earlier when I mentioned about my ideas on some high-tech chips to have people daydream walking? Well, I was about to put that into action, but with some more helping hands. Specifically...Dr. Jonathan Crane, Dr. Harley Quinn, and one more Arkham Inmate who specializes in plant pheromones. Hopefully, Harley was able to talk to Ivy after my lesson.
Later that night...
Scarecrow and Harley Quinn came by to the apartment after Harry told them about Nightwing locating them. "So, does that mean you have to leave Gotham?" Harley asked.
"Not unless this plan fails...which I am 90% confident it will work, give or take," Harry said, waving his hand in an even manner. "I have a plan that should get Nightwing off Mad Hatter's tail, but I'm going to need all of your help to make it happen. Uncle Jonthan, do you recall those updated chip designs I told you about?"
"Yes, I remember," Scarecrow said. "But you said it was a silly idea."
"No, I said it was 'just an idea', not silly," Harry corrected. "The designs and circuitry are plausible plus easy to create, but never fully tested. Even so, we got to try," The young boy then turned to the Jester. "Auntie Harley, please tell me you talked to your friend after our last lesson."
"She said she'll be willing to teach you, but in return, no using the control chips on her," Harley explained.
"Deal. Believe me, I don't plan on using any tech chips on her," Harry stated. "I will, however, need her flower expertise to design a fake flower to make it look like Nightwing is being controlled by her instead of my uncle. Rest assured, if this works, you ladies can have all the fun you want with him."
Harley had some interesting thoughts in her head when hearing that offer. "Oh, trust me...I got some fun ideas in mind for Bird Boy."
"Ivy will be here momentarily," Scarecrow said.
"Good. On the bright side, if my chip idea fails, Poison Ivy could always use her pollen persuasion or whatever plant pheromones she has as a backup plan," Harry said, pacing around a little in slight nervousness. "No need to panic...This is bigger than the Orphanage plan, obviously...And the last thing I want is to go back..."
"We can also mix Crane's fear toxin with the pheromones and the chips to create a mind-controlling illusion as plan C." Mad Hatter suggested.
"We don't have the time, since it won't be long till Nightwing will find this location." Harley said.
"She's right, Uncle Jervis. We have to make do with what we have and keep things somewhat simple," Harry said, stopping his pacing and looking at the Mad Hatter. "I don't want to lose such a great family that I finally got. This all has to be red roses perfect enough for the Queen of Hearts not seeing they're actually white roses painted."
"Okay, then." Mad Hatter said. "Let's hurry."
Later...
Poison Ivy had arrived at the apartment. And she is disgusted from what it looks like. "Is this where you live, Tetch?" She asked.
"It's all I got," Mad Hatter said.
"It's a literal dump," Ivy said
"It ain't so bad," Harley said.
Harry quickly came with the finished tech-chip. "Finished! Poison Ivy, you made it! First, I want to say 'hi' and glad you came. Second, my name is Harry Tetch, Jervis' adopted nephew. And third, we need your plant expertise on making sure Nightwing doesn't discover this place...and me."
"Why would Bird Boy want you?" Ivy asked.
"I don't know, maybe he figured out Hatter adopted the boy and is probably keeping him against his will or something." Harley said.
"Probably," Scarecrow said.
"There's no way that Overgrown Boy Wonder would be aware of Harry so easily!" Mad Hatter stated, defending the child. "As far as he's concerned, I'm just avoiding myself from going back to Arkham like the rest of you."
"And unless we do this plan, Nightwing's going to discover my existence and most likely send me back to that horrible orphanage," Harry added, not wanting that while going to Poison Ivy. "Which is why I need Ivy's help to create some dream flower plant or something related to that so I can make a fake flower which has the chip for Nightwing in leaving him in some daydreaming state. He and most likely Batman will believe they got the wrong Arkham baddies and will leave the Hatter alone...for now."
"Sounds legitimate," Scarecrow said.
"Come on, Ivy. Let's hurry," Harry said, taking her hand in getting to work.
I'm just going to skip further ahead in this. Only because...things did not go very well with my plan.
Soon, Harry and the other Arkham adults were in position at a different building in setting their trap diversion.
Harley Quinn looked outside the balcony to see if Nightwing will appear.
"Do you see him?" Mad Hatter asked.
"No. Not yet. ...No, wait, I do!" Harley then pointed at the a near build board.
Taking a closer look, Harley's eyes widened. "Uh, oh...Um, Hatter? We might have a small problem involving your kid's plan."
"Why is that?" Mad Hatter asked.
"Nightwing... is not alone!" Harley Quinn cried out.
"WHAT?" Mad Hatter asked.
Yeah...Turns out, I did not calculate Nightwing calling back up and bringing the rest of his Bat Family for just Mad Hatter. This was not my best moment here. The plan also got worse when my uncle made a risky decision.
Mad Hatter looked at Harry with concern before saying something. "Harley, you, Ivy, and Jonathan take Harry in escaping the back. I'll face the Bat Family on my own."
"What?! Uncle, please!" Harry exclaimed, feeling tears form in his eyes. "I can't lose you now!"
"It will be all right, my boy," Mad Hatter assured, going down to be eye-leveled with his nephew and placing a comforting hand on the boy's left cheek. "I appreciate the effort you tried to orchestrate, but even the Queen of Hearts has her guards. I will find my way back to you. And that's a promise."
"Harley, who's with Nightwing?" Scarecrow asked.
"Batgirl. We need to get out of here." Harley said.
"Exactly," Mad Hatter said, having Harley take Harry. "Now, go!"
Despite still hesitant, Harry evacuated with Harley Quinn while Mad Hatter brought out his own mind-control cards to use on any nearby civilians to distract the Bat Family.
You already figured out the rest. The bad news is, my plan was a complete flop where we couldn't use my untested chips. Slightly worse news, we had to go into hiding...again. The only silver lining was my secret relation with Mad Hatter still sustained. None of the Bat Family members are aware of that part. Even so...I still felt like a complete failure.
Harry and the other villains made a successful escape. Unfortunately, Jervis Tetch was captured by Nightwing and Batgirl. No trace of Harry being there. Harley offered Harry sanctuary at her place, for now.
A few months have passed; Harry is still living with Harley, Ivy hangs out with them, and Scarecrow still educates Harry, as well as Bane. Until one day... Harry's birthday has arrived.
However, the young boy didn't feel like the mood to celebrate anything. He's been down for months and hasn't been saying too much on any Hatter-related stuff since. Not even Harley's surprise tickle attacks can work...well, they do, but only for a short time.
"Ivy, Crane, and Bane are coming to your birthday party. Catwoman is also coming to drop off a very expensive gift for you," Harley said, going up to the boy.
"Thanks, Auntie Harley," Harry said, his tone a little sad yet gave a small smile. "I appreciate the heads up. Not often that you get your birthday celebrated by people from Arkham. I bet your parties were wild."
"Kinda. Usually, I invite Mr. J, but he never shows up, but Ivy does. So that's still good." Harley said.
"Yeah...Sorry, Auntie Harley," Harry said, patting Harley's shoulder in comfort. "Glad someone's there to celebrate your birthday. You two have been the coolest aunts I ever had. Almost close to me having a mom around."
"I appreciate it, but don't push it a bit too much," Harley said.
"Fair enough," Harry shrugged, starting to miss his uncle again. "Still...I'm not sure if I'll be okay celebrating without...Oh, never mind."
Harley sees the feeling in Harry's eyes. "You miss him, do you?"
"Yeah...I do," Harry said, sounding guilty while hugging his legs in a fetal position. "I thought I could protect my uncle and you guys. I thought this would be my chance to make him proud of me. Instead, he's locked up in Arkham Asylum because of me. I feel like I screwed up to a point where I'm just a useless burden.
"Hey, come on, now, kid. It's not your fault. It's just the luck of people like us." Harley said, rubbing on Harry's back.
"I still feel responsible. I had a plan and everything that just went Topsy Turvy," Harry said, not feeling better.
"Maddy will escape. I promise you that." Harley said.
"But it's been months now, Harley. If he wanted to escape, he'd do it sooner than that," Harry stated, looking down. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's still mad at me for failing him. Or already forgotten me."
"No, he hasn't. Me and Crane have been seeing him. He's still proud of you. He still cares." Harley said.
"You're just saying that," Harry said, not believing Harley.
"Sorry, I just didn't want you to feel upset on your birthday," Harley said.
Harry groaned, covering his face with his knees. "I knew it! So much for being a great nephew."
"It's only half true," Harley said. "I've been writing letters to him on how you're doing," She even showed a few letters. "He sometimes writes back, but didn't wanna get the bat family suspicious."
Harry took a look at them and recognized his uncle's handwriting.
"I may have lied a bit, but not all of it." Harley said.
"So...the part of him still caring about me was the truth?" Harry verified.
Harley simply replied, "Yes."
This actually helped Harry a little bit. "Huh...Guess I thought wrong about me being abandoned. Glad that wasn't the case."
"I told you he still cares." Harley Quinn said.
"Yeah...you did," Harry said, smiling brightly again. "How long until the others come for my birthday party again?"
"Ivy and Catwoman are on their way. Unfortunately, Dr. Crane said he's gonna make a minor delay 'cause he's getting a surprise for you," Harley explained.
"I don't mind," Harry said, standing up and stretching. "In Wonderland, time is overrated where nothing makes sense."
"Yeah, that's true." Harley Quinn said. "But don't worry, this party will be something to remember by. Crane's words, not mine."
"We're all mad here," Harry said, quoting from his uncle's favorite book while laughing. "Let's get this party started!"
"Ya-hoo!" Harley yelled.
Later...
Poison Ivy arrived. Catwoman has not yet arrived, due to a small delay in losing the Batman. But she will come in time nonetheless. On the bright side, the ones who showed up brought gifts for Harry. Riddler also came as well for some party games he invented. Mainly quizzes.
The good thing about the quizzes is that they were Alice in Wonderland-related. Considering Harry learned a lot about that subject.
"Riddle me this, boy, what's the name of the caterpillar that smokes?" Riddler asked.
"The Hookah-Smoking Caterpillar," Harry answered. "In the books, the Caterpillar that smoked never had a name. Just considered Caterpillar. However, in other films and different tales, the Caterpillar was called either Absolem or Russel."
"That is correct," Riddler said. "About the book. The caterpillar does not indeed have a name."
"When it comes to your questions, Riddler, there's always a twist and trick in it," Harry stated, smiling confidently.
Harley then walked towards Harry. "I just got word from Dr. Crane. He'll be here momentarily with your gift," she said.
"Nice. Until then, we'll continue the party," Harry said, fist-bumping Harley before going back to the others. "What's next on the list?"
One of Riddler's minions had an idea. "How about pinning the tail on the donkey?"
"Seriously?" Ivy asked the minion.
"No, wait! I have something better in mind." Riddler said. He then takes out a Batman sandbag. "Punching Bag."
"How about a bit of both? Pin the tail on the Batman Bag?" Harry suggested, unable to hold his laugh. "Now, that's absolute madness there."
"That's even better!" The second Riddler henchmen said.
"Woohoo! Mad genius for the win!" Harry exclaimed.
While I know most of the guests are somewhat mind controlled in not knowing about me as Jervis' kid, I was having too much fun on my birthday to even care! And for my unbirthday, I planned to invite the people who willingly helped me out only.
There was sudden knock at the door. "Who is it?" Harley asked.
"It's me, Quinn." the voice said.
Harley Quinn then opened the door. "Dr. Crane, you made it."
"Uncle Jonathan's here?!" Harry asked, sounding happy and going over to him. "You made it just in time! We were about to play a combined game called 'Pin the tail on the Batman'! I helped on that idea!"
"Ooooh, that sounds fun." Scarecrow said. "But I brought your gift. You want it now or later after the game?"
"I can have it after the game," Harry said, already grabbing his uncle Scarecrow's hand to join in. "Come on!"
"All right, then," Scarecrow said, lightly chuckling.