They both showed the picture they had, and to Ren it looked like night and day. As an idol and actress, Alice looked like something out of the Mad Hatter's tea party. But as Snicker-Snack, she looked like she walked out of a Wonderland strip club.
"Okay," Ren said, "Now I kinda want to see this girl in person."
"Well, the event is just over there," Ryuji said, looking towards the nearby 705, "How about we check out the event before we start shopping tomorrow?"
Alice was in her idol outfit, waving to the cheering crowd.
"Hey there, folks. There's a new store opening that will be carrying my very own personally designed brands. Have you ever dreamed that you could be somebody else, if only for a moment? Well, my new Wonderland store will allow you to do just that. And as a special surprise... I'll be giving away 100 invitation cards! These cards hold my personal keyword for EMMA friend requests. So for those of you who receive cards, please be sure to add me!"
As she started giving away the cards, she didn't notice one woman hiding in a nearby alley. The woman gave a wicked smirk.
"That's right... Keep giving out those cards. I'll ruin you for what you did. No one defies my right to rule..."
Little did this woman realize, Alice had spotted Drakus just as she was handing out the second-to-last card.
"Oh my gosh, you're the famous Drakus Hydrax, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Drakus said, "I'm surprised you recognize me."
Alice laughed.
"Well I ought to recognize a fellow trendsetter. Here, this is the last card. Maybe we can swap info."
"Dude, we're heroes too..." Ryuji said, slumping as Alice walked off.
"Yeah, but we've been on the news more than you have," Roman pointed out, "And she only had one card left."
As the crowd dispersed, Drakus looked at the card.
"It looks like an ad for the store. And it's named Wonderland."
"Ain't Wonderland the name of Alice's Quirk?" Ryuji asked, "If I remember right, it lets her manifest random small items that she uses as projectiles to hit with her combat cane."
"It's also the keyword for Alice's friend request," Ren noted, "Go ahead and put it in."
Drakus nodded and input the keyword into EMMA.
'Keyword accepted. Hero licenses recognized. Transporting you to Underworld Sector Wonderland.'
Ryuji blinked.
"Wait, what?"
"Tis probably nothing of concern," Inkerton said, immediately slithering into his room and crashing on the bed, as the X-Squad each went to their respective rooms and flopped onto their beds.
LATER...
A loud blast of jet engines awoke the squad from their beds, and they each saw something.
Their respective rooms had changed...
Instead of being the welcoming warmth of golds, they all were now a chilling defense and territorial monster of a room.
But, now wasn't the time for that.
Inkerton hopped off his bed, and grabbed the ducks. He didn't have time to observe his now changed room. He had to find the others and get out of here!
Once outside, the squad met up with the Shadow Strikers, who were somehow in their hero costumes, despite never having changed, and saw the hotel change before them. The golden insides of the hotel, slowly turned into dusky purples, bloody reds, and pitch blacks, mixed with odd party decorations. Several people were mulling about, but with pure yellow eyes. A familiar silhouette appeared on a jumbotron, as a strange pink magic ate away at the gold, as the squad continued on, as Drakus picked up Augustus, Violet, Mike and Veruca.
"The time has come to give you desires to Alice Hiiragi! Let her image consume your every waking moment, until you have nothing left to give but your lives!"
The squad looked on in shock as several marionettes dressed as police officers appeared, grabbing the people and pulling gems from their bodies.
"I think I know what's happening here," Zorro said, "Looks like we somehow got sucked into an Altered World Event. I can't believe one's popped up now of all times."
"There hasn't been a true Altered World Event for decades," Arsene noted, "Not since the capture of Destro. Many thought the world had finally settled into its current anomalous state and became stable."
"Just great," Captain Kidd said, "And look. I think those strange creatures are looking at us."
The guards had finished counting the gems they had.
"That's 99 in total. We're short one."
"There are more over there. But I can't feel their desires. They must be intruders. Deal with them!"
"Not good," Arsene said, "They're moving to attack. Team! Defensive action! Quirks hot!"
The mysterious landscape seemed to enhance the squad's abilities to tremendous levels, unleashing all of the extra powers that came with it, as they wreaked total havoc upon the guards.
"There's still too many!" Captain Kidd called out, "We need an exit of some kind!"
Gripping his flashlight tightly, Inkerton crept over to the elevator bay, where he saw Hellen glide into the room, her eyes glowing yellow.
Hellen stopped when she saw the squad, and then she smiled. It was the kind of smile a shark would give a small fish before eating it, the kind of smile the psychopath reserved for their latest victim in a slasher film. She thought they were absolutely perfect at this moment, standing there, flashlight tight in one of their fists, their breath coming fast and the color leaving their face as they started piecing everything together, as they suddenly saw a man leap in through a window, cloaked in cybernetic armor and had a bandage over one eye.
[HOLY FUCK!]
[It's our boy!]
[RAIDEN!]
[Metal Gear!]
[Metal Gear!]
[Metal Gear!]
[Raiden's as dummy thicc as Snake himself!]
[Nah, I think he be lean and sleek]
"Well, well, well," she cooed as she floated up to the squad. "If it isn't my most esteemed VIPs and the legendary White Devil himself! I was just on my way to see you!"
"Hellen," Mike said as evenly as he could. "What the heck is going on?"
"Oh, the guests'll be fine," replied Hellen, "but it's you I want to talk about. Is your room living up to your expectations? Doesn't it scream good taste?"
"My room is fine, thank you," Drakus responded in a clipped voice. "Now, I'm gonna ask you again, and this time, I want an answer. What the fuck. Is this?"
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