Post by Yvette on Aug 16, 2010 0:16:30 GMT -5
Jervis sighed in annoyance as he narrowly avoided being run into again. His patience was running out. He stumbled away from an older woman, dressed in a red dress far to young for her grey hair. "I'm sorry, dear," she said, "I didn't know anyone brought their children to thes—" she stopped when she saw Jervis' glaring face, "i'M nOt a ChIld," he snapped. The woman apologized again, muttering something about how she simply had to go say hello to someone, suddenly.
Once again, Jervis watched her leave. "ThE CiTiZens of wOndErLand," are becoming rather irksome, Your, "GraCe," he half-thought, half-spoke.
His Mind-Queen began to reply but was interrupted by one of the most annoying sounds he could have heard in Gotham: Commissioner Gordon. He turned on his tiny glaring up at the man.
His words were awful, as though he were speaking to a child. Jervis's eyes narrowed angrily, but he didn't move. "I wAs iNviTeD," To prove, he reached into his jacket and pulled out the paper, with Tarrant Hightopper on the guest line, "aNd i am nOT jErVIs," he added in a dangerous whisper. For one so small, he did look like a child, glaring at parents who wouldn't give him what he wanted, "anD I dON't waNt tEa witH THE likEs oF you. nEed I reMind YoU oF thE tEa I hAd wItH yOur DaUGHTer, sIr?
Go get your hats, and leave, Hatter!
Jervis frowned, "i wIll, MaJesTey," he said aloud, his gaze ripping away from the Commissioner.
----
Zatanna waved off Gordon's apology. She couldn't very well blame him, he had a point. He'd seen more of these tricksters and wackos than she ever cared to. Following his eyes and using the description he'd given her she finally gave a nod of her dark head of hair, shimmering black top hat bobbing with her.
."I see him," she confirmed, Venetian red lips pulling into a flat line. She could be serious when she wanted to. And she figured she'd be taking a load off Gordon if she put the beaming, laughing starlet part of her away for the time being and concentrated on the serious crime fighter somewhere under all her glitz and glam.
Upon further instruction she nodded again. "You can count on me," she said confidently, squaring her shoulders a bit and matching her tanzanite eyes with his to let him know she was all business now.
They approached the man. If that was what he really was -he looked more child than adult standing in front of them and Zatanna had to resist the urge to crouch down to level with him. She was a fairly tall woman as it was -made up of all leg, as she liked to brag- and wearing heels only made her more of a skyscraper. The man standing adjacent to her and Gordon was less than half her size. Which made it hard to look angry or firm with him. He was just so adorable looking!
But at the same time, Zatanna was smart enough and well versed in the criminal world enough to recognize the madness in his eyes. She stayed back and passed a look to Gordon as he began talking. His voice was smooth, gentle, obviously experienced. His words seemed all calculated and specifically tuned for Jervis. She remained quiet and only nodded when her name was brought up, assuring she would follow with the suggestion if he agreed to come with him. But criminals in Gotham were never that easy to persuade.
The contemptuous look in the smaller man's eyes chilled her all the way to her toes. Her fair brow puckered as he addressed them a little less than politely. She kept her eyes on the Commissioner for a signal if action needed to be taken. Her gaze switched back and forth between the two.
."Oh, c'mon now, how can you turn down tea with us? Pretty please?" she bent at the knee a little to bring herself closer to his level, "I'll even let you play with this." Her words were a purr of taunting as she tapped the silk brim of her hat. A wink followed. She straightened a bit as the small man started murmuring something to himself that obviously had nothing to do with the conversation. Zatanna resisted the urge to grimace uncomfortably and tacked her smile on with super glue. Her gaze slid over to Gordon once more to gauge his reaction.
-----
Gordon hadn't really expected Jervis to come away willingly, but it had been worth a shot. More over Zatanna seemed to be good at following the plan and was smiling at him, and being her general charming self. Gordon looked over at her, and smiled reassuringly. Jervis hadn't done anything dangerous yet to warrant any sort of drastic action, so far he was just muttered and wandering around. If there hadn't been a collection of priceless hats on display Jervis would have been easy enough to leave well enough alone until a team from Arkham could come by and collect him. But, the situation warranted action.
As Zatanna offered her her top hat Gordon gave her a questioning glance, it was harmless to offer it to Jervis, so long as he didn't want it back; although being a magician she could have easily placed some enchantment on it to protect herself from mind attacks--the magical version of a tinfoil hat or such. He didn't rebuke her, just trusted her judgment in this case. It certainly was a good bribe for the man, and likely to get his attention away from wrecking the exhibits.
Reaching his hand out he motioned for Jervis to hand him the invitation. At least he could add yet another name to the list of known alias of villains. ."It's OK Jervis, we believe you. Zatanna and I just want to make sure that you're enjoying yourself." A smile that was all professional flash and business. "That's what cops do Jervis, make sure people stay safe and happy. I just thought you'd like to go some where else where there were even more hats then this." If the comment about not wanting tea with them anyway bothered Gordon he didn't show it but simply ignored it. ."Jervis, you know that I won't hurt you--you can trust me." Gordon smiled earnestly, hoping Zatanna would go along with the story. Whispering to her, ."Are you sure you don't want that hat back?"
----
He looked up (very up) to the woman. His eyes rested on her hat, and although she moved to be more his height, which annoyed him, and although she was trying to convince him into something he'd said no to, Jervis grinned, snatching for the hat unsuccessfully, and the smile was gone as quickly as it'd appeared. He pointed at Zatanna, "I wAnt tHe hAT, plEasE," he said in a forced polite voice.
I like the hat. Let me have that one.
He glared at Zatanna suddenly, although it wasn't actually directed at her. It was meant for the Red Queen, "bUt it'S a tOp hAT. And i WeaR tOP HaTs," he objected somewhat sadly, as though he was tired of having things demanded of him.
But she's wearing it. So it's a girl's.
This was one of the few times in his life he would ignore the voices in his mind. Jervis looked at Gordon, who clearly wanted his invitation. "nO." he said calmly, holding it close and shaking his head, "i doN't wAnt TO go aNYwhEre eLse," Jervis took a small step back in an attempt to make his stance stronger. His height wasn't an advantage against these two, "I dOn'T wanT MoRE hATS rigHt nOw. I wANt hErs."
I want hers.
No, I do!
----
Zatanna grinned a sweet red grin at the smaller man and nodded along with Gordon. ."Of course, he's right you know! I'm specially certified in assuring that people are happy too. We just want to make sure you're having a good time.
When she straightened she pulled her hair from her shoulders and leaned slightly towards Gordon as he murmured something to her. Now, Zatanna was a more intelligent woman than her long legs gave her credit for. But at the same time, she was constantly satiated by luxury and the finer, glittering points of Gotham. She was not obsessed like the Batman about the criminal and corrupt, and she didn't have the experience of a police officer when it came to dealing with criminals.
And so, she wasn't too keen on all of them. Sure, the big ones she was familiar with, but the others went unnoticed by her. She didn't have /time/ to research up on all the villains of Gotham. She had a full time job as a magician, a grueling tour schedule and fans to adhere to.
So when Gordon gave her a very critical comment that would have been warning had she had any idea what she was getting herself into, she merely waved his words off with a flick of her slender hand.
."Well Jervis, you can /hold/ my hat for a bit, but I definitely need it back!" Confidently she removed the hat from her head and shook out her dark hair that hung like a sheath to her shoulders. "This hat is my entire reputation," she said lowly, as if sharing a special secret with the smaller man.
And before she could even begin to comprehend the disaster that could take place, she handed the hat over to the man begging in delusion for it.
."Now, I'm going to let you play with it, but you have to agree to come with us. Does that sound like a deal?" she asked with saccharine sweetness.
----
From the way Zatanna both brushed him off and winked at him, Gordon simply assumed that she knew what was going on and that it really was a magic hat. There was nothing in her mannerisms to give away anything other then a real desire to see Jervis happy, and for a brief second Gordon could have almost forgotten that he wasn't dealing with somebody on the force. If she didn't already have a day job that paid MUCH MUCH more then being a cop ever could he would have considered offering her a job then and there.
Jervis seemed more comfortable dealing with her anyways, and from the way he was looking at her--no not at her, the hat. There had still been no response from his fellow officers, and at this point Gordon was getting actually worried about them. It wasn't safe for them to be out for this long and--Gordon hesitated long enough to look at Zatanna then back at Jervis, then at the hat. ."Can you handle him Zatanna? There's a police cruiser out back, just stick him in there for now. I'll take him to Arkham myself afterward. He'll be far to occupied 'playing' with your hat to notice he's locked up." A pause.
."He'll get the help he needs Zatanna. Don't worry about him." He didn't want the magician to feel bad about leaving Jervis alone in a car at night, or about the fact that she was helping return him to Arkham--in Jervis's case there was always the chance it could help. ."Listen," He rustled in his pockets and handed her a set of keys. "I'm going to go check something, I'll meet you by the emergency exit." He pointed, "The alarms are turned off for the ball, and you should be able to get back in the same way--I'll be right there this will only take a second I promise! I wouldn't be asking this of you if it weren't important." Gordon looked over at Jervis one more time, there was a gut feeling that this was all to easy, and something bad was going to happen; but he had people to check on. Jervis could wait, his cops took priority.
----
Jervis' eyes widened as she gave him the hat, and he barely heard her words. "O fRaBJous dAy! CAlLooH! CaLLaY!" He chortled in his joy. He ran a hand over the hat, grinning wide. This wasn't enough to make up for the other hats, tonight, but—
…No.
No, this hat was better. This was the hat of the magnificent Zatanna. This hat was only one step down from the Batcowl. He looked up at her, eyes wide with his grateful thoughts. She wanted it back. Oh, he'd give it back.
As he thought about it, he knew it wasn't really happening, but his hat began to feel heavier. It was though all the thinks he kept in there for making and controlling hats was calling out to him. "Her hat!" they sang, "You know what to do!" His grin turned wicked.
I. Want. The. Hat.
"nO!" Jervis shouted suddenly, his grip on the hat tightening, his fingers tensing beneath the gloves. He took a calming breath, "i hAve to rEtUrn It," he said, more for Gordon and Zatanna's sake than his Queen's. He didn't want to give the hat away to anyone, but he'd make an exception, "yOu can'T HAVe it." He said finally, after a long silence, his voice no more than a whisper.
Jervis wasn't a fool. He knew they were talking down to him, he knew they didn't take him seriously. As long as he could play entertained and naive, this would work. And he knew just the excuse to let him work on the hat. "thEre'S a sPoT of SoMetHIng on IT. cAn I gET it OuT? ShAme tO HAVE A messy hAT." He purred happily.
----
Zatanna sent Gordon a confident flash of a smile. "I've got this, Commish. Go do what you need to do." She turned a watchful eye back on Jervis before switching her bright gaze back to Gordon as he gave her his instructions.
He was good to read her apprehension about putting the smaller man in a car alone. The madness in his eyes was heavy with intelligence, but she still couldn't help but feel guilty about tricking him. It felt like kicking a puppy. But Gordon's words assured her, as did the authority and depth in his voice, his wise angled face. She nodded once for him and almost felt like saluting him after she felt the keys, cool metal, in the heat of her palm.
."No worries. As I said before, Zatanna Zatara, at your service. This'll be a breeze," she assured him with a comforting wink. She watched the broad shouldered Commissioner go, disappearing through the crush of bodies in the tightly packed museum. Beaming, she turned back to Jervis, keeping the keys concealed in her white hand.
She was enjoying his enthusiasm with her hat. Not only was it the provided distraction Gordon had promised, but it was an ego boost as well. Proudly, her eyes crinkled in a smile, ."Pretty top notch, huh?" she asked him excitedly. She was about to say more when he screamed 'No' quite audibly. It was too quick to be in response to her question and her face merely crumpled sadly as she let him ride out his own personal conversation, or whatever it was that he was doing.
Finally, his eyes seemed to turn back to hers and then at the hat. When he spoke, the young magician's eyes widened in horror.
."A spot? Are you serious? That's my baby!" Completely forgetting about the fact that this was an intelligent and wanted criminal standing in front of her, and she had strict orders to lock him up in a patrol car, Zatanna was momentarily lost in the tragedy of her hat.
Her hat was /her/. More her signature than her gleaming white smile on billboards or even her renowned legs. If there was something wrong with her hat, it needed to be fixed /now/. Escorting him could wait. He wasn't doing anything wrong. He'd clean her hat and then she'd lead him outside.
."Please, please, you'd be doing me the biggest favor," she said, not at all concerned with the mischievous twinkle that might have flashed in his eye for a moment. "And then we should go outside, okay?"
----
Gordon meanwhile had managed to find out what went wrong, Bullock was standing amidst a circle of attractive women, drink in one hand, cocktail hotdog in the other; mouth full of half chewed food as he was animatedly talking about some heroic exploit of his. From the looks of 'actual' interest on the faces of the women he was no doubt telling the story of when he had 'single-handedly' captured Joker. The story was more embellishment then truth, and at the sight of Gordon Bullock bit right through the toothpick and started choking. Gordon just shook his head and didn't interrupt, with Bullock this was the safest place for him, at least this way if something did happen he'd have in his head just what they were protecting.
Undoubtedly, Bullock was already planning an excuse on why he going to be late for work tommorrow.
Crispus poked his head around a corner, and pointed at his radio subtly, indicating that he'd been listening in the whole time (asking why nobody had been talking had completely slipped his mind it would seem) but wanted to maintain radio silence on his end. Gordon nodded at the idea, Crispus was still new enough to the field that most of the high threat villains wouldn't know who he was. That left Renee, who was surprisingly for her caught up in what looked to be a heated political debate with Kate, no wonder she'd turned her ear piece off. Strictly speaking all four of them were supposed to be on duty, and focused on protecting the people here--not arguing politics and womanizing. (Or, just womanizing, but Renee at least would be at work in the morning.) At least they were safe at that's what counted. Next time...
Even while he thought the threat to not bring them along next time, Gordon knew it wasn't going to happen. They were the best. Not the most responsible, but the best he had.
Trotting back towards the exit door where he'd told Zatanna to wait, he was surprised to find she wasn't waiting for him like he'd expected. Great. Now something had happened to her, and Jervis was lose again. He sighed and furrowed his eyebrows, deciding that he was going to give her the benefit of the doubt for at least a few minutes at wait. He could always scope out the party from over here anyways. If she hadn't shown up in, he glanced at his watch, five minutes--THEN he'd start to worry.
----
His eye twitched as the Red Queen screeched in his mind.
You do not tell me no, Hatter! You do not tell me what I do, or do not get!
"sTop!" He shouted again, dropping Zatanna's hat to close his eyes tightly and put his hands over his ears. Her voice was heard by no one else, and this never seemed to bother Jervis. He had understood long ago that the voices were only for his mind… But now, he wished they would stop. At least, he wished they were quieter… Ignoring her, Jervis took long breaths, slowly opening his eyes again. He needed to play this through if he were going to keep up the picture she seemed to have formed of him. "I—i'M sOrrY," he murmured, and removed his own hat, revealing the red hair.
Jervis pulled something from his hat, looking enough like a scrub brush, and placed his top hat back. He didn't have to go far to pick up her hat, and he went to work on a spot that had never really been there. He grinned as he did so, as the scrub brush sent a small micro-chip into the silk band on her hat. He nodded, before holding her hat back to her on tiptoe, "i tHInk iT wAs Just dIrT," Jervis decided.
----
Zatanna quite literally jumped at Jervis's outburst. She went to put a hand out to touch his shoulder in comfort but thought better of it. Her soft face creased with concern. Alright, maybe it was time to bring him out to the patrol car. Gordon would probably be at the meeting point by now and she was late. She couldn't let him down like that, especially with this special privilege she'd been given. It would look pretty crummy if she didn't deliver like she'd promised. And she refused to be thought of as anything less than fantastic.
Thankfully, in a moment Jervis was okay. She shook her dark mane of hair gently in assurance. "It's okay, don't worry," she soothed, giving him another famous smile that spread across her face like a wildfire.
She muffled her amused giggle as he took off his own hat and pulled a brush from it. Why hadn't she thought of keeping stuff stored up in there?
."That's handy," she complimented him, and then watched like a hawk as he handled her silken hat. If he so much as scratched the thing she'd turn him into a frog and deliver him to Gordon in a jar.
In a few moments he was finished scrubbing away whatever he'd seen. Beaming like a little girl on Christmas morning Zatanna extended her hand to retrieve her hat.
."You're wonderful," she gushed.
And in one swift movement, she raised her arm and fitted the bugged top hat directly over her head.
----
Gordon caught sight of Zatanna just in time to watch Jervis try to mind control her. If he'd glanced to his left half a second earlier he might have called out, but instead he simply got to watch as Jervis grinned wickedly at what he must have assumed was a huge victory. For his part, it was a leap of faith to walk over towards them so calmly, and to wrap an arm around Zatanna in such a fatherly way, not unlike how she'd put an arm around him earlier, and smile at Jervis. ."Well Mr. Tech, I'd almost be worried about what I'd just seen, but you must apparently not know who you're dealing with here. Zatanna isn't going to fall for something as simple as mind control--right?
It was a huge leap of faith to assume that this whole thing had been a ploy, and that he hadn't just made a huge mistake. He hoped not. If Jervis had control of Zatanna--well then things were going to get very bad very quickly. The last person that had gotten into a fight with Zatanna and won was Mary Marvel, and it wasn't like she was going to be popping up any time soon. Batman would be a fair match, but four cops (well two working ones) would be shredded by magic before they could even get any where near close enough to get rid of that hat.
Right Zatanna?" The longer he stood there, the more this was looking like everything had really just gone wrong.
----
Aww…
Her compliments almost made him regret doing this.
But her magic made the regret disappear. Hey! Magic making something disappear?! Imagine that.
Jervis's grin grew vicious, and he tilted his head. Running a hand across the brim of his hat, he activated the micro-chip with an inaudible chuckle.
You take that micro-chip out and give me her hat.
He ignored her entirely this time, not even listening in the first place. His eyes were fixed on Zatanna, even as Gordon came back. Oh, he seemed so confident that this wouldn't work. He'd destroy that confidence in a moment.
…He hoped…
There was a chance that Gordon was right, and Jervis truly hoped that wasn't so. "sHe wOn'T?" He asked gently, before laughing a mad, loud laugh that seemed to go on for longer than it should have. He brought it to a giggle and his eyes danced mischievously. "lEt's geT soMe MoRE hAts, shALL We?" Jervis asked Zatanna, his hands fidgeting with his bowtie yet again.
----
Zatanna's eyes glassed over. When Gordon approach, her body didn't respond to his touch or his warm confidence. She stood there like a marble statue, red lips poised and still, eyes staring straight ahead. Her white chest rose and collapsed gingerly but that was the only movement she seemed capable of making.
Her eyes fixated on Jervis and fixated on him wholly, as if there were nothing else. No extravagant museum, no other guests, and no Commissioner beside her that she'd unknowingly just caused a whole lot of trouble for.
Jervis spoke and his voice seemed to permeate the thick pane of glass over her usually magical demeanor. Her face looked raw without its familiar smile or Zatanna-twinkle, her body cold and sharp without her friendly movements and full laughter.
Finally, she moved. Her dark lips parted softly and a hollow sounding voice pressed through, not graced with any of the enthusiastic inflection her speech was accustomed to.
."Yes, let's," she answered him and struck out a hand gingerly into the air. "Stah raeppa!".
There weren't too many hats at the event. Formal attire didn't often warrant them. But the few that were present vanished off the heads of their wearers and appeared in a flash of light in the magician's hand. She dropped the four of them to the floor in front of Jervis, presenting them to him emotionlessly.
Once again, Jervis watched her leave. "ThE CiTiZens of wOndErLand," are becoming rather irksome, Your, "GraCe," he half-thought, half-spoke.
His Mind-Queen began to reply but was interrupted by one of the most annoying sounds he could have heard in Gotham: Commissioner Gordon. He turned on his tiny glaring up at the man.
His words were awful, as though he were speaking to a child. Jervis's eyes narrowed angrily, but he didn't move. "I wAs iNviTeD," To prove, he reached into his jacket and pulled out the paper, with Tarrant Hightopper on the guest line, "aNd i am nOT jErVIs," he added in a dangerous whisper. For one so small, he did look like a child, glaring at parents who wouldn't give him what he wanted, "anD I dON't waNt tEa witH THE likEs oF you. nEed I reMind YoU oF thE tEa I hAd wItH yOur DaUGHTer, sIr?
Go get your hats, and leave, Hatter!
Jervis frowned, "i wIll, MaJesTey," he said aloud, his gaze ripping away from the Commissioner.
----
Zatanna waved off Gordon's apology. She couldn't very well blame him, he had a point. He'd seen more of these tricksters and wackos than she ever cared to. Following his eyes and using the description he'd given her she finally gave a nod of her dark head of hair, shimmering black top hat bobbing with her.
."I see him," she confirmed, Venetian red lips pulling into a flat line. She could be serious when she wanted to. And she figured she'd be taking a load off Gordon if she put the beaming, laughing starlet part of her away for the time being and concentrated on the serious crime fighter somewhere under all her glitz and glam.
Upon further instruction she nodded again. "You can count on me," she said confidently, squaring her shoulders a bit and matching her tanzanite eyes with his to let him know she was all business now.
They approached the man. If that was what he really was -he looked more child than adult standing in front of them and Zatanna had to resist the urge to crouch down to level with him. She was a fairly tall woman as it was -made up of all leg, as she liked to brag- and wearing heels only made her more of a skyscraper. The man standing adjacent to her and Gordon was less than half her size. Which made it hard to look angry or firm with him. He was just so adorable looking!
But at the same time, Zatanna was smart enough and well versed in the criminal world enough to recognize the madness in his eyes. She stayed back and passed a look to Gordon as he began talking. His voice was smooth, gentle, obviously experienced. His words seemed all calculated and specifically tuned for Jervis. She remained quiet and only nodded when her name was brought up, assuring she would follow with the suggestion if he agreed to come with him. But criminals in Gotham were never that easy to persuade.
The contemptuous look in the smaller man's eyes chilled her all the way to her toes. Her fair brow puckered as he addressed them a little less than politely. She kept her eyes on the Commissioner for a signal if action needed to be taken. Her gaze switched back and forth between the two.
."Oh, c'mon now, how can you turn down tea with us? Pretty please?" she bent at the knee a little to bring herself closer to his level, "I'll even let you play with this." Her words were a purr of taunting as she tapped the silk brim of her hat. A wink followed. She straightened a bit as the small man started murmuring something to himself that obviously had nothing to do with the conversation. Zatanna resisted the urge to grimace uncomfortably and tacked her smile on with super glue. Her gaze slid over to Gordon once more to gauge his reaction.
-----
Gordon hadn't really expected Jervis to come away willingly, but it had been worth a shot. More over Zatanna seemed to be good at following the plan and was smiling at him, and being her general charming self. Gordon looked over at her, and smiled reassuringly. Jervis hadn't done anything dangerous yet to warrant any sort of drastic action, so far he was just muttered and wandering around. If there hadn't been a collection of priceless hats on display Jervis would have been easy enough to leave well enough alone until a team from Arkham could come by and collect him. But, the situation warranted action.
As Zatanna offered her her top hat Gordon gave her a questioning glance, it was harmless to offer it to Jervis, so long as he didn't want it back; although being a magician she could have easily placed some enchantment on it to protect herself from mind attacks--the magical version of a tinfoil hat or such. He didn't rebuke her, just trusted her judgment in this case. It certainly was a good bribe for the man, and likely to get his attention away from wrecking the exhibits.
Reaching his hand out he motioned for Jervis to hand him the invitation. At least he could add yet another name to the list of known alias of villains. ."It's OK Jervis, we believe you. Zatanna and I just want to make sure that you're enjoying yourself." A smile that was all professional flash and business. "That's what cops do Jervis, make sure people stay safe and happy. I just thought you'd like to go some where else where there were even more hats then this." If the comment about not wanting tea with them anyway bothered Gordon he didn't show it but simply ignored it. ."Jervis, you know that I won't hurt you--you can trust me." Gordon smiled earnestly, hoping Zatanna would go along with the story. Whispering to her, ."Are you sure you don't want that hat back?"
----
He looked up (very up) to the woman. His eyes rested on her hat, and although she moved to be more his height, which annoyed him, and although she was trying to convince him into something he'd said no to, Jervis grinned, snatching for the hat unsuccessfully, and the smile was gone as quickly as it'd appeared. He pointed at Zatanna, "I wAnt tHe hAT, plEasE," he said in a forced polite voice.
I like the hat. Let me have that one.
He glared at Zatanna suddenly, although it wasn't actually directed at her. It was meant for the Red Queen, "bUt it'S a tOp hAT. And i WeaR tOP HaTs," he objected somewhat sadly, as though he was tired of having things demanded of him.
But she's wearing it. So it's a girl's.
This was one of the few times in his life he would ignore the voices in his mind. Jervis looked at Gordon, who clearly wanted his invitation. "nO." he said calmly, holding it close and shaking his head, "i doN't wAnt TO go aNYwhEre eLse," Jervis took a small step back in an attempt to make his stance stronger. His height wasn't an advantage against these two, "I dOn'T wanT MoRE hATS rigHt nOw. I wANt hErs."
I want hers.
No, I do!
----
Zatanna grinned a sweet red grin at the smaller man and nodded along with Gordon. ."Of course, he's right you know! I'm specially certified in assuring that people are happy too. We just want to make sure you're having a good time.
When she straightened she pulled her hair from her shoulders and leaned slightly towards Gordon as he murmured something to her. Now, Zatanna was a more intelligent woman than her long legs gave her credit for. But at the same time, she was constantly satiated by luxury and the finer, glittering points of Gotham. She was not obsessed like the Batman about the criminal and corrupt, and she didn't have the experience of a police officer when it came to dealing with criminals.
And so, she wasn't too keen on all of them. Sure, the big ones she was familiar with, but the others went unnoticed by her. She didn't have /time/ to research up on all the villains of Gotham. She had a full time job as a magician, a grueling tour schedule and fans to adhere to.
So when Gordon gave her a very critical comment that would have been warning had she had any idea what she was getting herself into, she merely waved his words off with a flick of her slender hand.
."Well Jervis, you can /hold/ my hat for a bit, but I definitely need it back!" Confidently she removed the hat from her head and shook out her dark hair that hung like a sheath to her shoulders. "This hat is my entire reputation," she said lowly, as if sharing a special secret with the smaller man.
And before she could even begin to comprehend the disaster that could take place, she handed the hat over to the man begging in delusion for it.
."Now, I'm going to let you play with it, but you have to agree to come with us. Does that sound like a deal?" she asked with saccharine sweetness.
----
From the way Zatanna both brushed him off and winked at him, Gordon simply assumed that she knew what was going on and that it really was a magic hat. There was nothing in her mannerisms to give away anything other then a real desire to see Jervis happy, and for a brief second Gordon could have almost forgotten that he wasn't dealing with somebody on the force. If she didn't already have a day job that paid MUCH MUCH more then being a cop ever could he would have considered offering her a job then and there.
Jervis seemed more comfortable dealing with her anyways, and from the way he was looking at her--no not at her, the hat. There had still been no response from his fellow officers, and at this point Gordon was getting actually worried about them. It wasn't safe for them to be out for this long and--Gordon hesitated long enough to look at Zatanna then back at Jervis, then at the hat. ."Can you handle him Zatanna? There's a police cruiser out back, just stick him in there for now. I'll take him to Arkham myself afterward. He'll be far to occupied 'playing' with your hat to notice he's locked up." A pause.
."He'll get the help he needs Zatanna. Don't worry about him." He didn't want the magician to feel bad about leaving Jervis alone in a car at night, or about the fact that she was helping return him to Arkham--in Jervis's case there was always the chance it could help. ."Listen," He rustled in his pockets and handed her a set of keys. "I'm going to go check something, I'll meet you by the emergency exit." He pointed, "The alarms are turned off for the ball, and you should be able to get back in the same way--I'll be right there this will only take a second I promise! I wouldn't be asking this of you if it weren't important." Gordon looked over at Jervis one more time, there was a gut feeling that this was all to easy, and something bad was going to happen; but he had people to check on. Jervis could wait, his cops took priority.
----
Jervis' eyes widened as she gave him the hat, and he barely heard her words. "O fRaBJous dAy! CAlLooH! CaLLaY!" He chortled in his joy. He ran a hand over the hat, grinning wide. This wasn't enough to make up for the other hats, tonight, but—
…No.
No, this hat was better. This was the hat of the magnificent Zatanna. This hat was only one step down from the Batcowl. He looked up at her, eyes wide with his grateful thoughts. She wanted it back. Oh, he'd give it back.
As he thought about it, he knew it wasn't really happening, but his hat began to feel heavier. It was though all the thinks he kept in there for making and controlling hats was calling out to him. "Her hat!" they sang, "You know what to do!" His grin turned wicked.
I. Want. The. Hat.
"nO!" Jervis shouted suddenly, his grip on the hat tightening, his fingers tensing beneath the gloves. He took a calming breath, "i hAve to rEtUrn It," he said, more for Gordon and Zatanna's sake than his Queen's. He didn't want to give the hat away to anyone, but he'd make an exception, "yOu can'T HAVe it." He said finally, after a long silence, his voice no more than a whisper.
Jervis wasn't a fool. He knew they were talking down to him, he knew they didn't take him seriously. As long as he could play entertained and naive, this would work. And he knew just the excuse to let him work on the hat. "thEre'S a sPoT of SoMetHIng on IT. cAn I gET it OuT? ShAme tO HAVE A messy hAT." He purred happily.
----
Zatanna sent Gordon a confident flash of a smile. "I've got this, Commish. Go do what you need to do." She turned a watchful eye back on Jervis before switching her bright gaze back to Gordon as he gave her his instructions.
He was good to read her apprehension about putting the smaller man in a car alone. The madness in his eyes was heavy with intelligence, but she still couldn't help but feel guilty about tricking him. It felt like kicking a puppy. But Gordon's words assured her, as did the authority and depth in his voice, his wise angled face. She nodded once for him and almost felt like saluting him after she felt the keys, cool metal, in the heat of her palm.
."No worries. As I said before, Zatanna Zatara, at your service. This'll be a breeze," she assured him with a comforting wink. She watched the broad shouldered Commissioner go, disappearing through the crush of bodies in the tightly packed museum. Beaming, she turned back to Jervis, keeping the keys concealed in her white hand.
She was enjoying his enthusiasm with her hat. Not only was it the provided distraction Gordon had promised, but it was an ego boost as well. Proudly, her eyes crinkled in a smile, ."Pretty top notch, huh?" she asked him excitedly. She was about to say more when he screamed 'No' quite audibly. It was too quick to be in response to her question and her face merely crumpled sadly as she let him ride out his own personal conversation, or whatever it was that he was doing.
Finally, his eyes seemed to turn back to hers and then at the hat. When he spoke, the young magician's eyes widened in horror.
."A spot? Are you serious? That's my baby!" Completely forgetting about the fact that this was an intelligent and wanted criminal standing in front of her, and she had strict orders to lock him up in a patrol car, Zatanna was momentarily lost in the tragedy of her hat.
Her hat was /her/. More her signature than her gleaming white smile on billboards or even her renowned legs. If there was something wrong with her hat, it needed to be fixed /now/. Escorting him could wait. He wasn't doing anything wrong. He'd clean her hat and then she'd lead him outside.
."Please, please, you'd be doing me the biggest favor," she said, not at all concerned with the mischievous twinkle that might have flashed in his eye for a moment. "And then we should go outside, okay?"
----
Gordon meanwhile had managed to find out what went wrong, Bullock was standing amidst a circle of attractive women, drink in one hand, cocktail hotdog in the other; mouth full of half chewed food as he was animatedly talking about some heroic exploit of his. From the looks of 'actual' interest on the faces of the women he was no doubt telling the story of when he had 'single-handedly' captured Joker. The story was more embellishment then truth, and at the sight of Gordon Bullock bit right through the toothpick and started choking. Gordon just shook his head and didn't interrupt, with Bullock this was the safest place for him, at least this way if something did happen he'd have in his head just what they were protecting.
Undoubtedly, Bullock was already planning an excuse on why he going to be late for work tommorrow.
Crispus poked his head around a corner, and pointed at his radio subtly, indicating that he'd been listening in the whole time (asking why nobody had been talking had completely slipped his mind it would seem) but wanted to maintain radio silence on his end. Gordon nodded at the idea, Crispus was still new enough to the field that most of the high threat villains wouldn't know who he was. That left Renee, who was surprisingly for her caught up in what looked to be a heated political debate with Kate, no wonder she'd turned her ear piece off. Strictly speaking all four of them were supposed to be on duty, and focused on protecting the people here--not arguing politics and womanizing. (Or, just womanizing, but Renee at least would be at work in the morning.) At least they were safe at that's what counted. Next time...
Even while he thought the threat to not bring them along next time, Gordon knew it wasn't going to happen. They were the best. Not the most responsible, but the best he had.
Trotting back towards the exit door where he'd told Zatanna to wait, he was surprised to find she wasn't waiting for him like he'd expected. Great. Now something had happened to her, and Jervis was lose again. He sighed and furrowed his eyebrows, deciding that he was going to give her the benefit of the doubt for at least a few minutes at wait. He could always scope out the party from over here anyways. If she hadn't shown up in, he glanced at his watch, five minutes--THEN he'd start to worry.
----
His eye twitched as the Red Queen screeched in his mind.
You do not tell me no, Hatter! You do not tell me what I do, or do not get!
"sTop!" He shouted again, dropping Zatanna's hat to close his eyes tightly and put his hands over his ears. Her voice was heard by no one else, and this never seemed to bother Jervis. He had understood long ago that the voices were only for his mind… But now, he wished they would stop. At least, he wished they were quieter… Ignoring her, Jervis took long breaths, slowly opening his eyes again. He needed to play this through if he were going to keep up the picture she seemed to have formed of him. "I—i'M sOrrY," he murmured, and removed his own hat, revealing the red hair.
Jervis pulled something from his hat, looking enough like a scrub brush, and placed his top hat back. He didn't have to go far to pick up her hat, and he went to work on a spot that had never really been there. He grinned as he did so, as the scrub brush sent a small micro-chip into the silk band on her hat. He nodded, before holding her hat back to her on tiptoe, "i tHInk iT wAs Just dIrT," Jervis decided.
----
Zatanna quite literally jumped at Jervis's outburst. She went to put a hand out to touch his shoulder in comfort but thought better of it. Her soft face creased with concern. Alright, maybe it was time to bring him out to the patrol car. Gordon would probably be at the meeting point by now and she was late. She couldn't let him down like that, especially with this special privilege she'd been given. It would look pretty crummy if she didn't deliver like she'd promised. And she refused to be thought of as anything less than fantastic.
Thankfully, in a moment Jervis was okay. She shook her dark mane of hair gently in assurance. "It's okay, don't worry," she soothed, giving him another famous smile that spread across her face like a wildfire.
She muffled her amused giggle as he took off his own hat and pulled a brush from it. Why hadn't she thought of keeping stuff stored up in there?
."That's handy," she complimented him, and then watched like a hawk as he handled her silken hat. If he so much as scratched the thing she'd turn him into a frog and deliver him to Gordon in a jar.
In a few moments he was finished scrubbing away whatever he'd seen. Beaming like a little girl on Christmas morning Zatanna extended her hand to retrieve her hat.
."You're wonderful," she gushed.
And in one swift movement, she raised her arm and fitted the bugged top hat directly over her head.
----
Gordon caught sight of Zatanna just in time to watch Jervis try to mind control her. If he'd glanced to his left half a second earlier he might have called out, but instead he simply got to watch as Jervis grinned wickedly at what he must have assumed was a huge victory. For his part, it was a leap of faith to walk over towards them so calmly, and to wrap an arm around Zatanna in such a fatherly way, not unlike how she'd put an arm around him earlier, and smile at Jervis. ."Well Mr. Tech, I'd almost be worried about what I'd just seen, but you must apparently not know who you're dealing with here. Zatanna isn't going to fall for something as simple as mind control--right?
It was a huge leap of faith to assume that this whole thing had been a ploy, and that he hadn't just made a huge mistake. He hoped not. If Jervis had control of Zatanna--well then things were going to get very bad very quickly. The last person that had gotten into a fight with Zatanna and won was Mary Marvel, and it wasn't like she was going to be popping up any time soon. Batman would be a fair match, but four cops (well two working ones) would be shredded by magic before they could even get any where near close enough to get rid of that hat.
Right Zatanna?" The longer he stood there, the more this was looking like everything had really just gone wrong.
----
Aww…
Her compliments almost made him regret doing this.
But her magic made the regret disappear. Hey! Magic making something disappear?! Imagine that.
Jervis's grin grew vicious, and he tilted his head. Running a hand across the brim of his hat, he activated the micro-chip with an inaudible chuckle.
You take that micro-chip out and give me her hat.
He ignored her entirely this time, not even listening in the first place. His eyes were fixed on Zatanna, even as Gordon came back. Oh, he seemed so confident that this wouldn't work. He'd destroy that confidence in a moment.
…He hoped…
There was a chance that Gordon was right, and Jervis truly hoped that wasn't so. "sHe wOn'T?" He asked gently, before laughing a mad, loud laugh that seemed to go on for longer than it should have. He brought it to a giggle and his eyes danced mischievously. "lEt's geT soMe MoRE hAts, shALL We?" Jervis asked Zatanna, his hands fidgeting with his bowtie yet again.
----
Zatanna's eyes glassed over. When Gordon approach, her body didn't respond to his touch or his warm confidence. She stood there like a marble statue, red lips poised and still, eyes staring straight ahead. Her white chest rose and collapsed gingerly but that was the only movement she seemed capable of making.
Her eyes fixated on Jervis and fixated on him wholly, as if there were nothing else. No extravagant museum, no other guests, and no Commissioner beside her that she'd unknowingly just caused a whole lot of trouble for.
Jervis spoke and his voice seemed to permeate the thick pane of glass over her usually magical demeanor. Her face looked raw without its familiar smile or Zatanna-twinkle, her body cold and sharp without her friendly movements and full laughter.
Finally, she moved. Her dark lips parted softly and a hollow sounding voice pressed through, not graced with any of the enthusiastic inflection her speech was accustomed to.
."Yes, let's," she answered him and struck out a hand gingerly into the air. "Stah raeppa!".
There weren't too many hats at the event. Formal attire didn't often warrant them. But the few that were present vanished off the heads of their wearers and appeared in a flash of light in the magician's hand. She dropped the four of them to the floor in front of Jervis, presenting them to him emotionlessly.
