The meeting had taken place and the deal was done—everyone seemed happy. Still, for some reason, I couldn't escape a nagging sense of vague doubts gnawing at my mind. It felt as if Stark was holding something back. What, I couldn't say, but the feeling persisted, heavy and insistent. Eventually, I reasoned these suspicions were pointless, at least for now, and decided to set them aside. According to the agreement, Stark Industries would provide me with the "TS" element at the beginning of next month—which worked out well, since I planned to return to Gotham once all my current affairs were settled.
Buoyed by how smoothly things had gone, I couldn't help but smile as I watched the skyscraper's silhouette shrink behind us. "Sasha, stop the car," I instructed the young woman at the wheel.
"What happened?" she asked, her eyes searching my face, but obediently easing the car to a temporary parking spot. Some inexplicable force drew me outside; I stepped into the sunlight and looked around at two rows of unremarkable houses flanking a narrow road. Then I spotted a large bank sign ahead—imposing, but otherwise just as bland as its surroundings. Still, there was something about this place… an undercurrent of imminent threat. My intuition screamed that something bad was about to happen.
Sharing my unease, I turned to my companion.
"So, why are we here?"
Bordo pressed a note of concern in her voice.
"Aren't you curious? Where's your sense of adventure?"
"My job's to protect you, not lead you into the heart of a potential crisis."
"It's probably nothing serious. Trust me—I think we can handle it. Besides, with a bodyguard of your caliber? I have nothing to worry about," I said with a laugh, already heading toward the entrance. From the outside, this decision might have seemed foolhardy, but something told me the risk might lead to opportunity, not just danger.
Inside, everything was calm. Nothing betrayed an impending storm, except the ever-increasing shrillness of my intuition. I didn't have to wait long. Suddenly, armed men in outlandish rabbit costumes stormed into the bank in broad daylight.
No comment... Seriously, what was this? Did they escape from some children's party? But then I caught sight of their leader and everything became clear. A young woman, dressed spectacularly as a character out of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, wandered the hall with unrestrained delight. The White Rabbit.
As far as I could recall, she was a C-list Spider-Man villain—someone Parker defeated with barely any effort, likely forgetting about her the very next day. She was that insignificant, and therefore nearly unknown. Most Marvel fans had probably never even heard of her. But I was nothing if not attentive: her real name was Loreena Dodson, a woman of considerable fortune now hiding beneath the rabbit mask—almost impossible to recognize as the reserved Dodson.
The White Rabbit hailed from wealth. Her parents, determined she received a proper upbringing, isolated her from the world, homeschooled her, severed her peer connections to "protect" her, and supervised her every move. In an effort to brighten the monotony of this overly "correct" but lonely existence, Lorina turned to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. It's worth mentioning that spite of so few relics from my previous life showing up here, this book exists in this world. That alone nearly proves how the White Rabbit became who she is—without Carroll's fairy tale, there might never have been this villain in Spider-Man's world. But I digress; there are other such oddities, but that's a story for another time.
Returning to the matter at hand: at twenty-five, her parents married her off to a respectable but elderly millionaire, an arrangement that failed to make her happy. Unsuited to the "real world," melancholic and ill-prepared as she was, Dodson withdrew even further, plunging herself into fantasy. Adventure beckoned, but her aged husband couldn't provide it. Realizing that, she abandoned him, appropriated his multimillion-dollar inheritance, and began to pursue the life of daring she craved. She excelled at it.
The rabbit-themed gunmen demanded everyone lie down and keep quiet. Some overly sensitive types screamed in terror, but for me, honestly, the whole scenario struck me as more amusing than frightening. Sadly, Spider-Man had not yet found his powers in this universe, so there'd be no help from friendly neighborhood heroes. I'd have to resolve it myself.
As their henchmen—cartoonish, ridiculous as they were—broke cameras and menaced the crowd, one of the "miracle" rabbits approached me directly.
"What are you waiting for?" He leveled his machine gun at me. "A special invitation?!"
I just hope I don't start laughing... Their outfits are a joke! The only person who looked good in a rabbit suit—let's be honest—was Lorina Dodson. She wore it well, and it even gave her a kind of dangerous charm. If she ever lost the mask, I bet she'd be beautiful.
"Are you deaf?! Get on the floor!" the cartoon goon shouted, losing patience. "You too!" he barked at the indifferent Sasha.
"Are you serious? Not to insult the cleaning staff, but this floor? It looks like a herd of elephants—or rabbits—just stampeded through. It's not exactly hygienic, is it?" I replied, calm and perhaps a little too flippant.
"I don't care. Lie down, or I'll put a hole in your head," he threatened, shoving the barrel closer to my temple.
"I wouldn't advise that."
"Why not?" the hare sneered.
"Because things could go very badly for you," I said, flashing a mysterious smile. He seemed eager to answer my challenge, but at that moment, the ringleader intervened. He quickly submitted to her, stepping aside for the White Rabbit herself.
"Not afraid?" she asked, playful curiosity in her tone.
"No... To be honest, you're as tough as a ball," I quipped.
She laughed. "And you're very interesting," she said, licking her bright red lips. "I can't understand where this fearlessness comes from."
"It's just that I've been through worse. Compared to the Joker's gang, these guys are amateurs. Gotham's clown takes danger to a whole new level—one these rabbits can't even dream of. For someone who's escaped the world's most deranged psychopath, today feels like a stroll through a vegetable garden. Plus, I have one of the world's best bodyguards right here."
"Very interesting. Maybe you could share some of those stories?" she asked, lifting my chin with her umbrella's tip.
"That'd take too long, and this isn't exactly the time or place. Maybe somewhere private?"
She grinned. "Not wasting your time, I see. But I'm afraid our conversation has gone on too long." She glanced at a pocket watch. "The cops will be here soon, and I need to clean this place out first. You and your friend are in the way… no offense," she said, tucking a carrot into my shirt. "Shame we couldn't chat longer. Goodbye, brave boy. Boom!"
Thank you for your support.
Another chapter as we are close to the ending of this week, and real close to something new.
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