[Plot] The Wonderland Complex

[Narrator]

The comment got the creature to turn it's head on a swivel towards the group, the rest of it's personage turned away from them.

Not unlike an upside-down owl. Only incredibly more unsettling because a human body shouldn't be able to turn it's head in a 360° circle.

It was not lost on the group that now they were staring at Hatter, their eyes locked on them.

Well, alright. Their eyes would be locked on Hatter if they had them.

[Alice]

Alice swallowed before she spoke.

"I just... wanted to make sure he wasn't jumping to any conclusions, that's all. I'm more used to having things here explained to me than telling them to someone else."

She made an effort to try and stay facing the other two instead of the one on the pommel horse.

"I... suppose introductions are in order? This is our brand new Cheshire, fresh out of the box." She gestured to the tall and pale man who still looked shocked.

"Cheshire, this is Caterpillar, Dor- oh, she's already asleep, well she's still Dormouse whether she's asleep or awake. And over there is the Knave." Alice made a general gesture in the appropriate direction, doing her best not to turn and face them on accident. She might not have used the word creepy herself, but it was definitely on her mind.

[Narrator]

"Charmed, I'm sure, though you'll forgive me if I don't get too attached. Hattie is right about one thing.

Your kind don't last very long around here."

[Basil Benson]

Cheshire barely registered any of the things Alice had said about who the others were, hugging his arms to himself and staring at the floor. he began rubbing and pinching at the skin around his clavicle.

[Narrator]

Caterpillar sighed. "Did you two break this toy already? Queenie's going to be so disappointed."

[Hatter]

"If he broke that easily, he'd never have made it this far," Hatter pointed out.

[Alice]

"Be nice to the boy." Alice said with a grumpy expression, a little surprised at herself for speaking up to Caterpillar. "This is his first day seeing any of us. I know that we're taught to expect no pulled punches but surely you can remember what your first day was like. Wouldn't you have appreciated a little bit'a kindness?"

[Narrator]

"Perhaps.

but then again, perhaps being lenient on them is what's caused us to go through 36 others." He stated, moving past the trio of misfits and moving to take a fencing foil off a rack of practice weapons and begin his usual routine.

[Alice]

Alice crossed her arms as she stepped aside, not wishing to impede Caterpillar as they walked away, muttering mostly to herself.

"Somehow I doubt that's been the case."

[Hatter]

"He may act high and might, but he's no less a prisoner than the rest of us," Hatter said to Cheshire assuringly, quiet enough for Caterpillar not to hear.

[Basil Benson]

"I... i think I would like to go back to my room." Cheshire replied, showing all the body language of an anxious child.

[Alice]

"Mmm, okaaaaaay. But you'll come back for meal time, right?" Alice asked of Cheshire with pleading eyes.

"If I have to listen one more time to the same stories I've already heard 1000 times, I really am going to go insane."

[Basil Benson]

Cheshire was of course going to balk, but he had always been a sucker for puppy dog eyes.

"I cannot promise I will have better stories. I do not remember any of my own."

[Alice]

"Then make some up or something, because I'm getting really tired of hearing other people talk about how great they are." Alice glanced back toward Caterpillar before she stepped back to give Cheshire some breathing room.

[Basil Benson]

"I....

I'll see what I can do."

--------------------

Cheshire had followed Alice's instructions on how to make it to the dining room without having to ask Queenie, which was good. While he suspected she was always watching him, he didn't like to catch her attention more than necessary. He stepped into the room alone, but was immediately greeted by all the faces he remembered from the Gymnasium, seated around an ornate table that was a complete juxtaposition to the sterile environment around it.


There were two empty seats left, one at an end of the table which was opposite the end where Caterpiller was seated lazily akimbo, his legs thrown over the arm of the chair while they awaited their dinner.

He appeared to be smoking a pipe, though the large clouds he was producing idly suggested it wasn't traditional despite the smell of cherry tobacco slowly filling the room around him.


The other open seat was between Hatter and Alice. Knowing he was far too new to warrant an end seat, Cheshire made his way to the open spot between the two girls.


Dormouse sat next to Caterpiller with her head on the smooth surface of the table, her eyes heavy lidded and dangerous close to nodding off.


Knave sat next to her, dangerously still. Like a mantid awaiting it's prey.

It seemed like there could be space for more one chair across the table, but there was not an open chair there, suggesting only one more person was unaccounted for currently.

[Alice]

Alice gave Cheshire a little smile as he sat down, leaning over to speak softly to him.

"Glad to see you could make it. Feelin' any better?"

[Basil Benson]

"Not especially." Was his short response. He gazed at the others around the room.

"Are we waiting on The Queen?"

[Hatter]

Hatter barked a laugh, "As if her highness would deign to be among the rabble. No, we're waiting on Bunny."

[Basil Benson]

"Bunny?"

[Narrator]

As if summoned, a thin outline of light drew itself into a large square, and eventually traced out the shape of a keyhole, and then a knob.

The shape shifted 'opening' out into the room, and a figure stepped out of the other side of a door which depicted a dark dingy alley.

A slip of a girl, the young woman might have been more in line with one might have thought should have been the Alice from her blond hair, but her brilliant red eyes hidden behind heart shaped glasses threw the look off and made her look more otherworldly than wholesome. the dress she wore wasn't the same as their scrubs, but it wasn't all that unlike them.

On her wrist she wore a watch.

"Sorry I'm late." She replied once the 'door' was closed.

[Alice]

"Oh no, it's fine, we haven't been waitin' long. We've just been chatting a bit." Alice gestured between Cheshire and Bunny as the woman approached the table. "Cheshire, this is Bunny. Bunny, Cheshire."

"Pretty neat, huh?" She asked the boy in a little whisper before she moved to sit upright again, which just looked funny as many of the others were still taller than her even when they were leaning or slouching.

[Narrator]

"Hello Cheshire. It is nice to meet you."

Bunny seemed a bit cold too, but in a different fashion than Caterpillar. She didn't seem to have any hostility and smiled vaguely to him as she greeted him.

Now that the team had assembled, a compartment in the wall sprang to life, the cover panel sliding open to reveal a conveyor belt which steadily slid seven trays forward, each with a plate of beans, eggs, and chips, a carton of milk, a spoon and a fork, and a teacup. Each cup was different, and everyone knew which tray was meant for them by their mug.

An eighth tray bore a thermo-serv carafe of bog standard British black tea.

[Alice]

While Alice may have been one of the first to get up and grab a tray, it would be obvious to Cheshire that she was less enthusiastic than the others over the choice that evening, and not just in pace in which she ate. She was focusing on just the eggs at first, ignoring the other elements. She was even the last one to pour herself some tea, leaving it to sit in her oddly-shaped coffee mug. This behavior either didn't seem unusual to the other residents, or they simply didn't care or notice.

[Hatter]

Hatter's tea was immediately ruined by far too much milk and sugar. Her "Crazy Bunny Lady" mug seemed like something Bunny should have.

[Narrator]

The others went and claimed their trays individually.

Caterpillar's cup was a classic cup and saucer affair depicting a black butterfly.


Knave grabbed both their own tray and Dormouse's, setting Dormouse's in front of her.

Bunny grabbed her Asian style teacup and tray- "Who's playing mother today?" She asked.

Leaving Cheshire to collect the last cup and food tray, presuming this was his by process of elimination.

He wondered if this mug got passed along with the name as well. Did other Cheshires needed this strange form of encouragement?

[Alice]

Alice polished off her eggs and moved on to the chips, leaving the beans alone for now. It seemed obvious why she hadn't waited for the others to get their food before she began eating, she was a bit slower at it than the rest of them.

[Hatter]

"What I would give for some biscuits and gravy. American biscuits, not cookies. That'd be weird," Hatter said with a nervous chuckle.

[Alice]

"I know, right? I mean, this isn't bad or anythin', I actually really like the fries. But it's just... these don't belong together on the same plate." She gestured to the general plate layout; yeah, she was definitely not British.

"Do you think if I'm really good, Queenie'll give me some coffee one of these nights?"

[Narrator]

"Cheshire shall, I think." Caterpillar answered as he sat down with his tray.

Bunny smiled and took her place at the other end of the table, visually aligned with Caterpillar. "You may get to test your theory shortly Alice.

Caterpillar and I will be doing some reconnaissance until Cheshire is ready. We'll have an assignment soon."

[Hatter]

"Do we get a hint?" Hatter inquired.

[Narrator]

"Cheshire's comfort with nudity will be integral." Was the hint Bunny provided.

[Alice]

Alice looked rather excited for the opportunity, but her smile faded to a concerned blush as more details were revealed.

"What kinda girl do you think I am?"

[Basil Benson]

Cheshire too became a bit stiff, in the middle of pouring Caterpillar's cup, which caused him to spill on the other man.

"Sorry!"

Queenie would know about his propensity towards stripping down to nothing when he was in his cell alone, but how did this new woman know about this?

[Hatter]

Hatter stifled a giggle and smirked in amusement as she sipped her tea.

"you sure are full of surprises, kiddo."

[Narrator]

"Don't worry Alice. I would never force you to do anything you didn't want to do." Bunny reassured.

[Alice]

The girl breathed a little sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." Apparently she wasn't as fond of being nude as someone else at the table.

[Hatter]

"Being squeamish about everything isn't going to help you with whatever nefarious scheme we're wrapped up in," Hatter said to Alice.

[Narrator]

"Steady on!" Caterpillar cried out, grabbing his napkin and violently dabbing at the hot liquid dumped into his lap. "Let's hope you're better in the field then you are at pouring tea."

[Basil Benson]

"S-Sorry!" Cheshire replied, pulling back from the other gentleman a bit to allow him to sort himself out.

"What if I don't want to do it?" He asked.

[Alice]

Alice pouted and scrunched her nose up at Hatter. "I'm not squeamish! I just ain't gonna let myself be taken advantage of like some struggling actress in a B-movie."

Cheshire's question didd catch her attention though. "Don't you wanna go outside? Doing jobs is about the only way we get to."