Date: Tue, 1 Jan 2002 09:57:54 -0800 (PST) From: Author James Subject: Chronicles of a Real Dark Knight 13 Disclaimer: This story, though maybe not in this chapter but in subsequent chapters, will have celebrities in it. I have no knowledge of their sexuality and this is not intended to imply their sexuality. This is all from my own mind. Scary!! People actually get a glimpse into my mind!!! Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox. Batman, and all related characters created by Bob Kane. Copyright DC Comics and Warner Bros. X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox. Talamasca, Lestat, Louis, and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice. I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered. In this story, which has been floating around in my head most of my life, you will find many universes merging, as the above copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy this. I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. This story doesn't deal so much with sex, sex, sex, but more of my feelings that I struggled with and am starting to come to terms with. Part of his background is mine. I do hope that you enjoy it!!! Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter and story you are commenting on. Thanks. jmsotc@yahoo.com Chapter 13 Descent Into Wonderland Catwoman and I made our way from rooftop to rooftop until we arrived at the haberdashery. The streets below bustled with people heading home from work or heading out for recreation, whether it was shopping or partying. I looked around at the people enjoying their lives. "My life is not normal," I said. "What do you mean?" "I should be home right now with my boyfriend. Instead I'm on the other side of the world going after a man who controls people's minds and calls himself the Mad Hatter. And a woman dressed as a cat, a purple cat, is working with me." "Some people are destined for ordinariness. Others are destined for extraordinariness. We should be thankful we don't have ordinary, mundane lives." I nodded to her. As we passed over a street, I noticed two guys walking hand in hand. I missed Lance horribly. I would have to send him a message when I got done with the Mad Hatter. Catwoman and I landed on the roof across from the haberdashery. I pulled out a set of binoculars and looked through the windows hoping to see the Mad Hatter. I found him on the second floor looking at a pocket watch and then out the window. He obviously was waiting for his zombies. "He's on the second floor. Ready?" "Sure am," Catwoman replied. I put the binoculars back and pulled out a grapple gun. I shot a line and jumped off the building. The Mad Hatter saw me swing across the street and his eyes enlarged with surprise. He turned and ran as I came crashing through the window. "Hold it right there, Hatter," I said. "You've got nowhere to run," Catwoman added as she stood up from the pile of broken glass from the window she came through. "Curiouser and curiouser," the Mad Hatter declared as he ran out of the room. Catwoman and I took off after him. We followed him down the hall, down the staircase and down another flight of stairs to the basement. He entered a room and locked the door. "Great. How do we get in?" Catwoman asked. "Leave that to me." I stepped back and manipulated the molecules of heat. With a great burst of energy, the door came off the hinges. "Ladies first." Catwoman stepped in and I followed. In the middle of the room was a giant hole. The bottom was nowhere to be seen. "I guess the Mad Hatter went down the rabbit hole." "I'll go first," I replied. Opening my cape I jumped feet first into the hole. Down I plunged further and further. It seemed as if I fell forever. I stretched out my molecules to slow my fall. I noticed a light under me and I slowed down even more. I landed softly on the ground and looked around me. It seemed as if I was in a forest. "What the..." I said. "Welcome to Wonderland," the Mad Hatter greeted. "I'm sure you've read the stories." "You're through, Hatter. Come with me quietly and there will be no trouble." "Ah, Batman, you may top dog in the world above. But in Wonderland, Mad Hatter reigns supreme." Several people wearing clothing like card suits came out of the trees. They hefted spears. I noticed a queen come out with a big heart on her chest. "The Queen of Hearts," I muttered. "You've got to be kidding me." "Is this man bothering you, Hatter?" she asked as she approached the Mad Hatter. "Yes, my dear. He has been preventing my efforts in our plan for you to take the throne." "Hmm, what to do? What to do?" She grabbed her chin and caresses it in thought. "I know. Take off his head." The Two of Clubs stabbed at me. I grabbed his spear and pulled hard spinning him around and knocking him into the Three of Diamonds, Seven of Diamonds and Four of Hearts. The Eight of Spades kicked me in the back. I fell forward to the ground. As I rolled over I saw his spear coming down at my throat. Without warning, a whip wrapped around his spear and pulled him away. I looked up and saw Catwoman smiling at me. I definitely owed her. Catwoman pulled the Eight of Spades into several of his suit and readied herself for a fight. I flipped up and joined her. A fight ensued. Catwoman kicked the Eight of Diamonds and Four of Clubs within the first few seconds of the attack. I fought the Ace of Spades and the Ten of Clubs. They kept coming, one after the other. Catwoman, with her Slayer strength and stamina, held her own. I, with my mutation, kept up. All that was left standing was Catwoman, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and myself. "You dare to oppose us," the Queen said. "How dare you withstand royalty?" "You're royalty?" Catwoman said. "Not with that hair." The Queen of Hearts twirled her scepter like a baton. "You want to touch royalty, do you?" "Scratch out its eyes, more like it." "Let's dance." The Queen swung her scepter at Catwoman. Catwoman jumped back to dodge it. She swung a claw at the Queen. The Queen used her scepter to block, then swung it back and hit Catwoman in the face. Catwoman spun and ended in a kneeling position. "That's right. Bow before your Queen." "My ass," Catwoman answered. Catwoman swung her legs out and knocked the Queen's legs out from under her. The Queen fell to the ground. "Do you really think you can take me, Batman?" the Mad Hatter asked. "We're going to find out, aren't we?" The Mad Hatter swung a fist at me. I ducked and brought my fist up catching him in the stomach. He hunched over. I brought my knee up into his gut and then interlaced my fingers and hit him in the back. He fell to the ground. "I thought you'd have more fight, Hatter." Mad Hatter brought his elbow up and hit me between the legs. I fell to my knees in pain. His elbow connected with my face and I fell over. "Is that fight enough for you?" he asked. Through squinted eyes I saw him stand and run off into the forest. I took several breaths trying to keep myself from hurling, which would be rather difficult to do with the mask covering my mouth. I looked over and saw Catwoman and the Queen of Hearts fighting. The Queen brought her scepter in an upswing. It connected with Catwoman's face. Blood splattered from her mouth. Catwoman wiped her mouth. "Nasty toy you have," Catwoman said. "Isn't it though?" the Queen replied with an evil grin. "It would make a great scratching post." Catwoman yanked her whip out and swung it at the Queen. It wrapped around the scepter and she jerked, pulling the scepter away from the Queen. "NO!" the Queen cried. "Let's do this woman to woman." Catwoman tossed the scepter and her whip into some bushes. She turned to the Queen and motioned for her to approach. Taking a defensive stance she awaited the Queen's attack. The Queen was infuriated by Catwoman's posturing. Her anger took her over and she charged at Catwoman. Catwoman jumped into the air and flipped over the Queen. Her foot came up in a side kick and she kicked the Queen knocking her into a tree. They turned to face each other. The Queen charged again. Catwoman held her ground, however. The Queen threw a punch, a kick, a backhand, and Catwoman blocked. Right after a block, Catwoman brought her hand up in a back swing and backhanded the Queen. "Not so tough without your scepter, are you?" Catwoman said. "You'll not win." "When I'm ready to win, I will." The Queen kicked at Catwoman. Catwoman moved her arm low and blocked it. She swung a claw at the Queen. The Queen jumped back. She swung another claw. The Queen blocked and backhanded Catwoman. Catwoman's head jerked. She then brought a leg up to kick the Queen. The Queen blocked and punched Catwoman in the stomach. Catwoman clutched her stomach and stumbled back. "It is finished," the Queen said with a grin. The Queen jabbed her foot at Catwoman. Catwoman grabbed it and with a twist snapped the bones. "Ahh," the Queen cried out in pain. "It sure is," Catwoman replied. The Queen dropped to the ground clutching her leg. "You broke my leg! How dare you break my leg?" "You're lucky I don't break your neck." Catwoman looked around and found some vines hanging from a tree. She grabs several thick strands and ties up the Queen. "That should do." "Good job," I said slowly moving to my feet. "Thanks. What happened to you?" "Mad Hatter took a cheap shot." "Hit you in the balls, did he?" I nodded. "He ran off into the forest." The Queen smiled. "What's so amusing?" Catwoman asked. "He knows you won't go looking for him. That's our turf, not yours." "I don't care whose turf it is. He's been controlling people's minds. He's attempted to take the life of two Princes. I can't allow him to go free." "Good luck," the Queen muttered. "What about us?" Catwoman asked. "Remain here," I answered. "Once I get him, I'll come back and float us to the surface." She nodded and I ran into the woods after the Mad Hatter. Jervis Tech stopped at a tree and leaned up against it breathing heavily. "He won't catch me," he said to no one in particular. "I've got the upper hand." Jervis stood there for ten minutes to regain his strength and breathe when he heard a rustling in the shrubs. "What?" Looking up he saw a shadow move and then form into Batman. "That's impossible." I emerged from some bushes and looked around. I wasn't entirely confident I would find him. Still I had to try. He had to pay for what he did. I relaxed my molecules and stretched the out. I searched for his consciousness, his thoughts and emotions. Knowing what he went through it would be easy to assume he would be angry. That's what I searched for. I sensed a great deal of anger and quickly came to myself in time to see a tree branch coming at my head. I ducked as it whizzed over me. I brought my fist up and hit the Mad Hatter in the face. His head jerked back and he released his hold on the branch. I didn't wait for him to recover. I swung my fist at him and punched him in the face again. He stumbled into a tree. "Wait," he said. He turned to me blood pouring out of his nose. "You win. I'll go quietly." He put his hands up. "Let's go," I said walking up to him. Without warning he pulled out a computer chip and stuck it to my temple. Immediately my body froze in place. The Mad Hatter began to laugh maniacally. "Who has who, Batman?" I reached up to pull it off. "Stop," he ordered. I complied. "You have no more control over your motor functions. You are mine. And if memory serves me, we have a beautiful kitty to grab. March." I turned and we walked back toward the clearing I landed in. The whole time I tried to gain control of my muscles. I could not. Whatever functions controlled my voluntary motor activity was now under the Mad Hatter's instruction. We entered the clearing. Catwoman stood up. "Batman..." "He is now under my control, my dear," the Mad Hatter said. "Try anything and he dies." The Queen of Hearts laughed. Realization struck me. I could not control my muscles. But I could still use my mutation. I relaxed my mind and concentrated on electrical molecules. I felt the air charge with static electricity. "What's that?" the Mad Hatter asked. "Queen, what is that?" "What's what?" she asked. "The charge I'm feeling. You never said anything about this forest having such a high concentration of static." "It doesn't," she replied. A tiny bolt of electricity shot out of nowhere and hit the computer chip short circuiting it. "What? No!" the Mad Hatter cried. My fist collided with his face and he fell unconscious. Moments later the Mad Hatter was tied up alongside the Queen of Hearts. "Are you ready?" I asked Catwoman. "Yes. I think I've spent enough time in Wonderland." I smiled at her. She stood on one side of our prisoners. I stood on the other. Mustering all I could I manipulated the molecules around us and lifted us. Higher and higher we ascended up the rabbit hole. In moments of time we arrived in the basement of the haberdashery and I sat us down gently. "I believe this is our stop." The Queen and the Mad Hatter threw me a dirty look. "I'll call the authorities to come and take these two away," Catwoman said. "I'll seal up this hole." Catwoman disappeared up the stairs. I turned to the hole and stretched out my hands. I could manipulate fire and electricity. It was time I tried earth. I felt part of me become the ground. I felt the dampness in my hands, the richness of the soil in my body. Before our eyes, the hole closed up. Catwoman and I arrived at the Watchers' Council tired. We entered the sitting room and collapsed. "Rough time?" Jayce asked. "Yes," Catwoman answered. "But we won." "Yes, I heard. The police contacted me and said Jervis Tech was in custody, along with Elizabeth Hart." "Elizabeth Hart? Was she the Queen of Hearts?" I asked. "Yes." "Why were they after the Princes?" "The Hart family traces its lineage back centuries. They were always in the running for the crown of England. They had the wealth and the authority. They were present when Arthur pulled Excalibur from the stone and they were present during the Crusades alongside King Richard the Lionheart. But they never achieved royalty. "Throughout the years the throne became more and more their focus, forgetting about their other civic duties. Surmising this, with the Mad Hatter's technology, there could have been two possibilities. "One, that the Mad Hatter would gain control of the Princes and use them to gain control of Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth. Or, two, Elizabeth Hart was planning on gaining control of the Princes to make one fall in love with and marry her, giving her the position of Princess by marriage." "The things people will do for power," I said. My mind went back to when Turic controlled Justin through magic. "I'm glad we were able to prevent her from her objective." "Me, too," Jayce said. "I'm off to bed," Serena said. "Good night, gentlemen." "I think I'm going as well. Good night, Jayce." "Good night, Eric." I stood and went up to my room. To Be Continued... One down, two to go. Did I handle things with the Mad Hatter well? I hope I didn't ruin him for those of you who are fans of him. More to come! Keep reading!