Batman: Life in Plastic - The Mad Hatter wishes to play a game

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Batman: Life in Plastic - The Mad Hatter wishes to play a game

The Bat Signal shone brightly in the dreary Gotham City sky as the Bat-Mobile raced to the Gotham Mall with the Caped Crusader at the wheel. A video screen inside was playing a news report that the Mad Hatter had crashed the Miss Galaxy beauty pageant and had kidnapped Miss Springfield. The feed then cut to a choppy feed of the young woman bound and gagged to a pillar inside one of the shopping center’s department stores in the background and in the foreground was the Hatter himself. He was flanked by two muscle-bound goons, members of the Mad Hatter’s Wonderland gang, dressed like Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum.

“Oh, frabjous day! Calloh! Callay!” He mused into the camera and smiled his twisted grin that showcased his rather extreme features that were partially hidden by the shadows of his green top hat, “It’s time to play! And what better partner to have a game with than the Batman? Come, come, Batman, and come alone. You know where I am. Come and save this beauty. You have my promise as a Hatter that if you come and play my game she will live. If you don’t come, then there will be a bullet for her head and then, oh no! She’ll be dead!”

The video showed the Hatter flash a proud, crazed smile and he turned away from the camera. He made his way over to the panicking woman, and he ran a hand through her wavy blonde hair. The Mad Hatter’s smile then faded and his gaunt face took on a nasty scowl.

“You have one hour, Batman,” he announced, and took his pocket watch from inside his coat pocket. The tiny object was ticking over and over again in a steady rhythm, and soon, the bound woman’s eyes rolled back in her head. The Hatter saw this and continued, “The clock is tick, tick, ticking. And none of your illustrious little Bat Family or the tin soldiers of Gotham City’s Finest. And no gadgets. Just you and I. Me and you. Come through that door and that door only or she will most certainly be through.”

“See you soon!” The Hatter called just as the video closed with him cocking the pistol and placed the barrel next to her head.

Batman narrowed his eyes and thought about what he would do when he arrived at the department store’s entrance. Surely he was stepping into a trap, but what would prevent the Mad Hatter from just shooting the poor girl once he arrived to rub it in his face? He needed to be quick with whatever he was going to do. Then there was the idea that Jervis Tetch was telling to the truth and would let the girl go. That would be unexpected but you could never really tell with Jervis. Finally, the Bat-Mobile screeched to a stop outside the department store’s entrance and Batman made his decision.

He knew he was walking into a trap and the only option he had was to spring the trap.

He did just as he was told and made his way through the entrance and saw that there was no one around save for the bound and gagged pageant contestant. He surveyed his surroundings, then called out for the Mad Hatter, “Tetch. I’m here and have done as you’ve said. Now let her go!”

Just then, the Mad Hatter’s voice could be heard over the store’s speaker system, “Welcome, Batman! We’re going to play a little game. It will no doubt be…transformative….”
  1. Batman springs the trap
  2. The Mad Hatter explains the rules of the game
  3. There are more villains present than Batman realizes
  4. Something else

Page created by: ESchorcho on 2022-11-11 13:34:12.

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