Two days later, Gotham Prep is buzzing with news of the *Gotham Gazette* article, "Gotham's Princess vs. The Trickster." Everywhere Maggie walks, people stare, whispering as they hold copies of the newspaper. She rolls her eyes, trying to keep her head down as she makes her way through the hallway, but it's impossible to escape the attention. Her friends, Emily and Stephanie, rush over to her, each with a copy of the article.
"Maggie!" Stephanie exclaims, her eyes wide with excitement. "They made you sound like a total superhero!"
Emily nods, practically vibrating with excitement. "You saved *everyone* at the competition! The article even says the police couldn't have done it without you. You're like, a Gotham Prep legend now!"
Maggie blushes, a little uncomfortable with the praise. "It's not a big deal, guys... Really!"
But before she can say more, Roy appears, smirking as he waves his own copy of the newspaper at her. "So, Mags, are you gonna start patrolling the hallways next, or are we still good for our date after school?"
Maggie laughs, giving him a playful shove. "I told you, it's not a big deal. And yes, we're still on for after school."
He grins, throwing an arm around her. "Just saying, I'd feel a lot safer on the streets of Gotham with you around."
Just then, Alexis struts up with her own copy of the article, a fake smile plastered on her face. "Well, if it isn't *Gotham's Princess, *" she sneers, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Must be nice, getting all this attention. Bet you're loving every second."
Maggie takes a deep breath, keeping her tone steady. "Actually, no..."
"Oh, sure," Alexis continues, crossing her arms. "Like you didn't know the whole school would be talking about you. Some of us don't have to fake a crime-fighting act to be popular, you know."
Stephanie steps in, glaring at Alexis. "Why don't you back off, Alexis? Maggie actually did something brave. Not that you'd understand."
Alexis scoffs, flipping her hair as she gives Maggie a cold smile. "I just think it's funny she's trying so hard. We'll see how long it lasts."
As Alexis walks away, Maggie's friends surround her, offering support. Roy squeezes her shoulder, grinning. "Forget her. She's just jealous. Not everyone can pull off standing up to someone like The Trickster.'"
Maggie smiles, grateful for her friends. "Thanks, guys."
The Gotham Prep library is packed with students hunkered down over textbooks, notes, and laptops, trying to cram for finals. Maggie, Emily, Stephanie, Jason, and Roy have claimed a large table in the back corner, but it's clear that studying together has its challenges. Maggie sits at the center, surrounded by neat stacks of notes and color-coded highlighters. Jason is slouched across from her, looking less than thrilled, with his biology textbook open in front of him. Roy is scrolling through his phone, glancing up every now and then with a smirk, while Stephanie and Emily are huddled over their history notes, whispering and giggling.
"Alright, people," Maggie announces, tapping her pencil against her notebook. "Focus. We have to get through this. Finals are, like, right around the corner, and there's a *lot* to cover."
Jason groans, dramatically dropping his head onto his book. "Do we have to? I mean, we'll all pass, right? Passing is what counts, not *how much* we pass by."
"Spoken like a true academic," Maggie replies with a smirk. "But some of us are aiming a bit higher than just passing."
Roy chuckles, leaning back in his chair. "I don't know, Jason might be onto something. Passing is technically an achievement."
Emily sighs, giving Roy a playful glare. "And this is why I'm not taking any academic advice from either of you."
"Exactly!" Stephanie chimes in, flipping a page in her notes. "We need all the help we can get. Especially with history. Maggie, can you quiz us?"
Maggie smiles, relieved that someone's on board. "Of course! Alright, first question: What year was the Treaty of Ghent signed?"
Stephanie looks at Emily with wide eyes. "Oh… oh no. I know this. I swear I know this!"
Jason sits up, grinning. "You guys don't know that? Easy—1814."
Everyone turns to him, surprised.
Maggie raises an eyebrow, impressed. "Jason Todd… did you actually study?"
He shrugs, looking pleased with himself. "Maybe I did. Or maybe I overheard the teacher in class. You'll never know."
Maggie shakes her head, laughing as she returns to her notes.
The peace is abruptly shattered when the library doors burst open. A thin, sinister figure steps inside, his bright green coat and oversized hat casting a strange shadow under the dim library lights. It's Jervis Tetch—the Mad Hatter—and he's holding a small vial, his lips curled into a twisted smile.
"Attention, my little darlings!" he calls out, his voice sing-song and eerie. "Today, we're going on a journey down the rabbit hole."
Students exchange nervous glances, some standing to back away, but before anyone can react, the Mad Hatter uncorks the vial and tosses it across the room. A thin, greenish gas billows out, spreading quickly across the tables and bookshelves. It doesn't take long for everyone to start coughing, the neurotoxin taking effect almost instantly.
Maggie, sitting at the table with her friends, tries to cover her mouth and nose, but it's no use. Her vision starts to blur, and a strange, numb feeling takes over. She looks to her friends, her mind struggling to hold onto rational thought as the gas seeps in.
Stephanie's eyes go blank, her usual cheerful smile fading into a vacant expression. Emily drops her history notes, her hands limp at her sides. Jason and Roy look as though they're trying to fight it, but within moments, they too have the same hollow gaze, as if their minds are somewhere else entirely.
The Mad Hatter grins as he watches his control take hold. "Perfect! My little soldiers, I have such wonderful plans for you." He claps his hands, and the controlled students, including Maggie and her friends, all stand in eerie unison, awaiting his commands.
"Maggie," he says, tilting his head toward her. "Ah, the daughter of the great Bruce Wayne himself. How delightful! With the right blonde wig, you can be my Alice."
Maggie steps forward, her expression blank, her movements mechanical, like a puppet on strings. She feels as though she's watching herself from a distance, her mind clouded by the gas, her body moving without her will. Somewhere, deep down, a part of her is fighting to resist, but it's barely a flicker.
"Now," the Mad Hatter continues, pacing in front of his new army of students. "Gotham has underestimated the power of a mind properly… rewired. And tonight, we're going to make sure they know *exactly* what a mind under my control can do. Won't that be fun?"
A collective, emotionless "Yes, sir" echoes from the students in the library, their voices flat, devoid of personality. The Mad Hatter beams, pleased.
"First, my dear pupils," he commands, "follow me. We have a message to deliver… and Gotham will soon see the error of crossing Jervis Tetch."
As he strides toward the door, the students obediently follow him out of the library, Maggie and her friends among them, their minds locked in his grip, powerless to resist.
An hour or two later...The Gotham Prep library is eerily quiet as Batman and Batgirl step inside, their footsteps muffled on the plush carpet. The once-bustling study hall is now abandoned, scattered with forgotten backpacks, open textbooks, and overturned chairs—the remnants of the sudden chaos that unfolded.
Batgirl crouches beside one of the tables, examining a thin layer of greenish residue on the surface. "Looks like Mad Hatter's usual cocktail. He used neurotoxic gas… and it looks like everyone here was affected."
Batman gives a curt nod, his face set in a grim line as he scans the scene. "Gas canisters were deployed here and at three other entry points," he observes, pointing to various spots around the room. "He intended to trap them with no chance of escape."
Batgirl sighs, standing up and glancing around, her voice tinged with worry. "So he has Maggie, Jason, and who knows how many others under his control." She flips through a few scattered notebooks, catching sight of Jason's scrawled handwriting and Maggie's color-coded notes, and her eyes harden with determination. "He won't get away with this."
Batman's gaze narrows as he examines a small device embedded in the wall near the main entrance. "It's a signal enhancer," he mutters. "Tetch would need one to control that many students simultaneously. If we're lucky, he hasn't gone far."
Batgirl pulls out her tablet, running a scan for any unusual neurotoxicity signals in the area. "If he's using a signal enhancer, I might be able to trace it. This part of the city's network has a lot of interference, but…" She frowns, adjusting the parameters on the screen.
Batman walks toward the large windows at the front of the library, his gloved hand tracing faint fingerprints along the glass. "They left through here," he says, voice quiet. "He's herding them somewhere… but where?"
Batgirl's tablet lights up, showing a faint, irregular signal coming from an old industrial district on the city's outskirts. She glances at Batman, her eyes serious. "Looks like he's using the warehouses along Gotham River. There's an old factory there that used to produce chemicals back in the day. Perfect place for him to set up shop and use his toxins."
"Good work, Batgirl," Batman replies, already making his way to the exit. "We'll go in quietly. If he's got them all under control, any sudden movements could put them in danger."
Batgirl nods, a spark of determination in her gaze. "Agreed. We'll take him down fast before he can make them do anything reckless."
They hurry out of the library and into the Batmobile, their expressions steely as they speed toward the industrial district. As the city blurs by, Batgirl clenches her fists, thinking of Maggie, Jason, and all the other students caught in Mad Hatter's twisted scheme.
"We'll get them back," she says, as if speaking more to herself than to Batman. "All of them."
Batman's voice is steady, a comforting anchor amid the tension. "We will. And Tetch will learn he made a grave mistake."
Inside the dimly lit warehouse, the Mad Hatter has transformed the space into his twisted version of *Alice in Wonderland*. The makeshift set is lined with eerie, oversized props: a long table strewn with mismatched teapots and cracked cups, a broken clock hanging sideways, and stacks of old furniture painted in garish colors. The walls are lined with flashing lights and smoke machines, casting a sickly green and purple haze over the scene. Maggie, eyes vacant and movements mechanical, stands at the center in a tattered blue dress, as if she were Alice herself. Around her, fellow students play the parts of Wonderland's characters: Roy as the March Hare, Jason as the White Rabbit, Emily as the Cheshire Cat, and Stephanie as the Queen of Hearts. The roles have been assigned cruelly—each action, each line, is enforced by the neurotoxin's control, and any resistance sends a sharp jolt of pain through their bodies.
"Wonderful, wonderful!" the Mad Hatter claps his hands, his eyes glinting with manic glee. "My perfect Wonderland has come to life!"
He steps forward, gesturing grandly as Maggie stumbles forward, still dazed under his control. She kneels before an overturned chair meant to be her "rabbit hole," forced to mimic Alice's journey. Jason, playing his role as the White Rabbit, hurries forward, his gaze glassy, clutching an oversized pocket watch.
"Hurry, hurry, dear Alice!" he chants, repeating lines Tetch has drilled into them. "You mustn't be late!"
Maggie struggles to keep up with the forced performance, her mind fighting against the toxin, but every attempt is met with resistance, a painful shock that forces her to continue. Her friends are no better off—Emily's forced grin as the Cheshire Cat is strained, and Stephanie, cast as the Queen of Hearts, looks physically exhausted, her hand raised as if to mime her infamous line: "Off with their heads!"
But the chaos has escalated beyond a simple play. The Mad Hatter, thrilled with his control, is pushing the boundaries. He's directed students to climb dangerously high on rickety shelves, to swing from chains hanging from the ceiling, and to crawl through unstable piles of old crates. It's only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt.
Maggie catches a flash of fear in Jason's eyes as he's made to climb a tall, swaying stack of crates. The structure is unstable, and the higher he goes, the more it creaks under his weight.
"Careful, my White Rabbit," Tetch croons, clapping his hands. "I'd hate for you to *fall down the hole*!"
Jason's foot slips, and he wobbles, barely catching himself as the crates shudder. Maggie, feeling the fog lift just slightly, tries to speak, but her voice comes out as a faint whisper. "J-Jason…"
But Tetch's eyes snap to her, his control tightening. "Oh, *Alice*, don't worry about the Rabbit. Just worry about *yourself*."
In another corner, Roy is struggling to keep his balance on a teetering plank of wood meant to act as the "Mad Hatter's table." His eyes are unfocused, but he catches Maggie's gaze, his expression flickering with fear and a wordless apology as he's forced to continue reciting nonsense rhymes.
"Enough stalling, Alice!" Tetch's voice rings out. "It's time for your trial. Let's see if you can keep your head!"
Stephanie, her face pale and lips trembling, raises a shaky hand and shouts, "Off with her head!" Her words are hollow, and though her voice wavers, she's powerless to stop herself.
The students echo the chant, dazed voices calling out the twisted line. Maggie stumbles, dread creeping through her even as she fights to hold onto herself, knowing that if this continues, someone could be seriously injured—or worse. But above the chanting, a faint sound cuts through. A loud *thud*, followed by the faint hum of a grappling hook latching onto the metal beams above. Batman and Batgirl move silently, inching closer to the students. Batman's sharp eyes land on the small, metal devices strapped to each student's arm, a faint electric pulse humming beneath their skin. He gestures to Batgirl, who nods and reaches for Stephanie, hoping to carefully disable the device without triggering any alarms. But as her fingers close around the band, a powerful jolt of electricity courses through Stephanie's body, causing her to cry out and collapse in Batgirl's arms, unconscious.
"Tetch must've wired them with a failsafe," Batman mutters, grimacing as he carefully catches Jason, whose device he's also just tried to remove. Like Stephanie, Jason convulses briefly, his body going limp in Batman's grip.
The Mad Hatter's laughter echoes through the warehouse as he catches sight of them. "Oh, how delightful! You thought you could break my spell that easily, did you?" His voice is mocking, sing-song as he saunters towards them, his cane tapping the floor with each step. "My devices are *quite* clever, you see. A little… insurance policy against meddling do-gooders."
"Enough, Tetch," Batman growls, setting Jason down gently. "Release them, or you'll regret it."
"Release them?" Tetch laughs, twirling his cane. "Why would I release my beautiful Wonderland? Besides, they're quite content being here. See for yourself!"
With a flourish, he presses a button on his own wrist device, and Maggie, still under his control, stiffens, her eyes widening. Forced by the device, she stumbles toward Batman, her fists clenched, her face blank but a trace of fear flickering in her eyes.
"Please, Maggie, don't," Batman whispers, pain flashing across his usually stoic face. But her mind is clouded, her body no longer her own.
Batgirl reaches out for Emily, but as her fingers graze the device, another surge of electricity flares, and Emily crumples, just like the others. "Batman, if we try to take them all down, they'll be out cold before we even get to Tetch," she says urgently. "There has to be another way."
Tetch giggles, watching them with glee. "Oh, the poor heroes." he sneers, twirling his device in his hand, "how will you save them now?"
Maggie, caught between fighting the device and succumbing to its control, takes a shaky step toward Batman, her hand lifting as though to strike. Batman's eyes meet hers, holding her gaze with a fierce determination.
"Fight it, Maggie. I know you're stronger than him," he says in a low, steady voice, reaching out to her without touching the device. Maggie's expression falters, a flicker of recognition breaking through the blank stare.
The Mad Hatter sees this and scowls, frantically pressing buttons on his device to strengthen his control. "No, no, no! There's no breaking free from *my* story! Wonderland bows to *me*!"
While Tetch is focused on Maggie, Batgirl springs into action, lunging toward him, her grappling hook snapping around his ankle, yanking him off-balance. He stumbles, the device slipping from his grip and clattering to the floor. In a split-second decision, Batman snatches the device from the ground, quickly entering a code he's memorized from previous run-ins with Tetch. The override activates, and a series of beeps signal the shutdown of the students' devices. The moment the control breaks, Maggie collapses, catching herself on her hands and knees, her breaths coming in shallow gasps. All around them, the other students lie scattered on the ground, weak but beginning to regain consciousness.
Realizing he's been outplayed, the Mad Hatter scrambles backward, his twisted smile gone. "No, no, you can't—this was *my* Wonderland!"
Batman approaches him, his towering figure casting a menacing shadow. "Wonderland is over, Tetch. And your days of controlling anyone are done."
With a final surge of defiance, Tetch tries to dash for the exit, but Batgirl intercepts him, knocking him to the ground and securing his hands behind his back. As Gotham's police lights flash through the broken windows, Batman and Batgirl kneel by the students, checking their pulses and slowly rousing them back to consciousness. Maggie's eyes flutter open, dazed, and she looks up at Batman, her expression a mixture of relief and exhaustion.
"You came," she whispers, barely audible.
Batman's gaze softens, a rare warmth in his eyes. "Always."
The grand halls of Wayne Manor are quiet that evening, the usual comforting warmth tinged with an unsettling stillness. Jason and Maggie sit side by side on the large leather couch in the living room, each lost in their own thoughts, their faces pale and drawn.
Jason leans forward, staring at his hands, as if the memory of Tetch's control still lingers on his skin. "I could still… feel everything," he says quietly, his voice rough. "Even though I couldn't stop it." He clenches his fists. "It was like I was trapped in my own head, watching it all happen."
Maggie nods, hugging her knees to her chest, her gaze distant. "I know. I tried to resist him, but it was like every time I pushed back, he'd just tighten his hold." She shudders, wrapping her arms around herself. "I thought—at one point, I thought we'd never get out of it."
Jason glances at her, a flicker of something softer breaking through his usual guarded expression. He hesitates, then speaks. "Hey…I know it was terrifying, but you kept fighting." He reaches out, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "If anyone could stand up to a psycho like Tetch, it'd be you."
Maggie manages a small smile, grateful for the encouragement, even if her heart still races at the memory of Tetch's voice in her mind. "Thanks, Jay." She looks down, her voice barely above a whisper. "I just hated feeling so… powerless."
A heavy silence settles between them, both of them absorbing the weight of their shared experience. After a moment, Jason speaks up, his tone softer. "You know, when I first came here, I always thought… if I trained hard enough, I could handle anything. That I'd be strong enough to face any threat. But this…" He trails off, his jaw tightening. "It was a different kind of fight."
Maggie's gaze softens as she listens. "Yeah. I guess...There are some things we just can't punch our way out of."
Jason lets out a deep breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess that's what Bruce keeps trying to teach us. Control and patience, not just strength."
As if summoned, Bruce appears in the doorway, his face somber but understanding. He crosses the room and sits down beside them, his presence grounding, as if silently promising that they're safe now.
Jason meets Bruce's eyes. Maggie, still curled up, nods slowly, her lips trembling.
Bruce gives each of them a gentle, reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. "You're both safe now."
Alfred enters with fresh tea, his gaze warm and comforting. "Perhaps a good night's rest is in order, hmm? You've both been through quite enough for one day."
Maggie and Jason exchange a tired but grateful glance, and as Alfred pours the tea, they finally take a cup each, letting its warmth seep through their hands as they sit with Bruce, Alfred close by. For now, they are safe, together, and home—each sip slowly bringing a little bit of peace back into their shaken spirits.