82Most Wanted- Mad Hatter
"You sure this is where the call came from?"
"Positive."
Spider-Man and Batman stood outside one of the shops near Jezebel Plaza. The call seemed to have come from the Hat Shop.
"It's just… you sure?" Spider-Man asked.
"Yes, why?" Batman responded.
"I mean look where we are! Of all places, a hat shop?!"
"Hat shop or not, we still have a hostage to save."
"Fair point." Spider-Man sighed as they entered.
The inside of the shop seemed pretty normal. However, there was no in sight. Behind the counter was a door that most likely led to the back of the shop. But when they tried to open it, they found that it was locked. They spotted a vent just above them as they looked for another way in. Spider-Man ripped off the cover using his webs before crawling in with Batman behind him.
"Careful now! I don't want any accidents! Everything needs to be perfect!" Came a voice ahead of them.
"Of course." Someone replied.
"Of course, sir. You must refer to me as sir at all times. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Yes, what!?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Yes I understand, sir."
"Yes."
"No. Sir."
"Of course."
"Oh, this is maddening!" The duo reached the room where the voices were coming from. Inside were a bunch of men wearing bunny masks with devices attached to the top of them. They were all standing around a short man dressed as the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland.
"I'll have to look into refining the neural interface. The good news, the best news really, is that it works! You all listen! Maybe not as well as you should, but it's a start. That's always been the trouble, though, hasn't it? No one ever wanted to hear what Jervis had to say. He might as well have been invisible… But now! Hohohohoho! Now you'll have to pay attention. Because you won't have a choice!"
The two leaped down and quietly snuck up behind two men and smashed their heads together, knocking them out. The others took notice and prepared to fight. One attacked Batman with a knife but was easily countered before being sent to the floor with a knee to the face.
Spider-Man used his legs to throw one of the men into the shelves on the right of the room. Another hypnotized thug tried to take a swing at him but was countered with a leg sweep and a big stomp to the chest, knocking him out as well.
Once all the thugs were out cold, they approached Jervis who had done nothing but watch when the fight started.
"You both came! How wonderful! It really is an honor to make your- URK!" Jervis was cut off as Batman grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the grandfather clock behind him.
"Where's the girl?" Batman demanded.
"W-whatever do you mean?" Jervis stuttered.
"Alice."
"Excellent, then you both know why you're here!"
"What are talking about?"
"Oh, perhaps we don't see eye-to-eye after all."
"Yeah, especially when it comes to fashion." Spider-Man joked.
"Let me remedy that then! Tick-tock, watch the clock!"
They both looked up to the clock. The hands started spinning before their vision suddenly flashed and both felt a sudden headache hit them. Batman let go of Jervis as he fell onto his hands and knees while Spider-Man fell to his side
"What… did you… do…?" Batman tried to say before both men blacked out.
"Ugh. I'm never listening to a small person with a goofy hat again." Spider-Man mumbled as he stirred. As he opened his eyes, he saw that he was no longer in the Hat Shop. Somehow, he was in an eerie forest that looked like it was from some fairy tale.
"How did I… get here?" He wondered as he stood up. He saw that he had been laid out on a stone path, indicating it would lead him somewhere. It was obvious now that Jervis had hypnotized them into seeing this place.
"Crap, it's Mysterio all over again." He grumbled before realizing something, "where's Batman?"
Spider-Man began looking around. "Hello?! Batman! Can you hear me? Where are you?!"
"Hahahaha! Welcome to Wonderland! A loud voice echoed. Spider-Man whipped his head around, trying to find the source of the voice.
Deciding to get moving, Spider-Man used the trees to web swing along the path.
"Oh, it's where I first met Alice, you know! Ah, what grand adventures we had!" Mad Hatter spoke once again.
As he neared the end of the forest, he saw a large bridge ahead of him that had crumbled. As he walked up to it he saw that the bridge was now made up of platforms with electrical traps on them. With nothing to use to swing over it, Spider-Man waited for the traps to turn off before web-zipping onto them to get across. When he neared the end, he saw what looked like Mad Hatter chasing someone dressed as Alice from Alice in Wonderland before disappearing.
"But then they took her from me. Poor, sweet Alice. Lost and alone! I HAD to find her. Had to bring her home! And so I did! It was quite the journey, let me tell you… But she's here again. Safe. With me!"
On the other side of the bridge was another bottomless pit beneath him and a large keyhole with six lamps on the stonewalls around it. Spider-Man shot his webs at them, causing them to break. The keyhole glowed green before lowering and revealing itself to be a drawbridge.
"Still… the forces of the queen are everywhere. Conspiring to reclaim her. Which is why I brought you two here."
On the other side, the path continued before ending at a large tower. As he looked up, Spider-Man saw that the wall broke near the top, creating an entrance.
"Who better to protect Alice than the Batman and the Spider-Man?"
Spider-Man wall-crawled toward the entrance. When he crawled through it, he dropped down into a room with three doors.
"Oh dear. It seems you've gotten yourself all turned around. Which way's in? Which way's out? Oh dear, oh dear, what is my route?"
Come on, there must be some sort of clue. Spider-Man thought to himself. He looked up and spotted three paintings above him, one for each door. Above the one in the middle was a man wearing one of Mad Hatter's bunny masks.
"That's it!" Spider-Man said.
He entered through the middle door, only to reenter the room from the door on the left. He saw that the ma had moved to the door on the right. He went through that door only to return to the room again. The man moved over to the painting above the left door. Spider-Man entered through that one, but this time he entered a different room.
"Well, well. You both figured it out. But it taxed you didn't it? Drained a bit of that willpower of yours, hmm?"
The room itself seemed to be a big hallway with a purple rug on the floor and a chandelier above. In front of him appeared to be a large pain of glass. On the other side, he saw Batman.
"Batman?" He said as he approached the glass, Batman copied his movement. But as he as he got closer, more bunny-masked men came through the glass.
Thoughts getting heavier? Finding it harder to maintain control? Soon… Very soon…"
As Spider-Man fended off the thugs he saw Batman fighting too. But to him, it looked like no one was there. Spider-Man couldn't think too much about it as more thugs came in.
"Careful, now! It's not all flowers and tea parties down here. In fact, Wonderland's home to some rather nasty creatures. It brings out the best, and the worst, in us! Don't worry, Alice is in very good hands. More tea Alice?"
"Get away from me!" A feminine voice shouted.
"Oh my. It seems someone's forgotten her manners." Mad Hatter teased.
"You're crazy!"
"Not crazy, Alice. Mad. There is a difference, you know. What it is, I can't remember. Hahaha! But trust me on this."
After Spider-Man had beaten all the thugs, the glass shattered to reveal a hidden door. On the other side was a long hallway that seemed to stretch on forever. To move quickly, Spider-Man used his webs to swing through the hall. Along the way were a few electric traps that sent currents of electricity from one side of the hallway to the other. He would have to move strategically to avoid them.
"You must be wondering why I've brought you both down here? Well, see, I've developed the most wonderful device. One that compels obedience! And with weaker minds, it works quickly. Stick my creation on their heads and just like that, they're under my control!"
When Spider-Man reached the end of the hallway, he saw a weakened wall with the Mad Hatter on it. He used two webs to propel him forward and smash through to the other side. Now he was back outside.
"The stronger-willed individuals, however, require a bit of… oh, breaking in."
In front of him was a river made of tea, tea that was coming from the teapots hovering above the ground. He used the spoon in the river to get across.
"And this, my friends, brings us to the here and now! You're my Humpty Dumtys'. Your minds are shattering, and when I put the pieces back together, you'll be mine. Forever. Hehehehe!"
On the other side of the river was another building for Spider-Man to crawl up.
"Did you know time moves in seven different directions here? But you both have stuck to just one. Forward. Always forward. How boring! So why don't we try moving back!"
At the top, he saw a large grandfather clock, similar to the one when they found Jervis. Spider-Man swings over to it, but as soon as he did that, a large pendulum begins to swing right behind him.
"Tell me what you see. Tell me, tell me, tell me! Is it scary? Hmm? I hope it is! Hahaha! In fact, I hope it scares you both to pieces."
Not seeing any other choices, and running out of room, Spider-Man breaks through the dial of the clock.
"No, no, no. This is wrong! All wrong! All upside down and inside out and wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!"
Man, of all the things to try and kill me, a giant clock was not one that I had in mind. Spider-Man thought.
Withing the clock were a bunch of platforms and poles that led toward the top. However, Spider-Man spotted a small vent on the wall that was just big enough for him to crawl through.
"Stop it! Stop it right now! There's no winning here! Not for you! I'm in control! You play by my rules! Why won't either of you listen?! ! Do as I say! Do as I say right now!"
After making his way through the vents, he dropped down into a large room with a wooden door. In the room were a bunch of scattered boxes and fallen shelves, making getting to the door a bit harder. When he heard Jervis again, he sounded like he was crying.
"You've both ruined everything! My lovely party all in tatters. The table overturned and the guests are all gone! I think you should leave. In fact, I demand it!"
When Spider-Man was able to remove enough debris to get to the door and walk through the other side, he saw Batman throw a Batarang at Mad Hatter, who was right in front of him holding a girl that looked like Alice.
The Batarang swerved around Hatter before hitting him in the back of his head. Spider-Man used a web to pull Jervis's feet out from under him and fall to the floor. Batman knocked him out with a punch to the back of the head. Then suddenly, both men blacked out again.
When they woke up, they found themselves back in the room they were previously in. But now it was destroyed and Jervis was on the floor. The girl who was dressed as Alice was sitting on one of the chairs, crying her eyes out.
The two walked up to her to check on her. "Don't worry. You're safe now." Batman said. This did little to stop her crying.
"The police are on their way. Everything's going to be alright."
"No. It's not." The woman said before she went back to crying.
As the two left the shop, Spider-Man had one fleeting thought. It's reasons like these that I never do drugs.