Close Encounters of the Monster Kind

Elementary, My Dear (Mad Hatter/Wonderworm)

Time Skip

The two women were currently being interviewed back at the base. They had completely refused to speak unless Zachary was the one interviewing them, so the higher ups reluctantly allowed him to speak to them.

As soon as Zachary entered the room, the two of them lightened up.

"Ah, there he is!" Bowler said happily, "the man of the hour!" She took her hat off her head and began rummaging through it, looking for something.

"Okay..." Zachary said, "now we just have a few questions- what are you doing?"

Bowler pulled out a large plate with a teapot and three cups out from her hat and set it on the table.

"Now, Lara my dear, did you bring the sweets like I asked?"

Lara nodded slowly, before turning and grabbing something behind her chair and brought out a basket of sweets.

"What- how-"

Bowler waved her hand, "what and how do not matter, my darling." She gently grabbed the teapot and began pouring tea into the cups as Lara pulled out sweets from the basket and began placing them on the plate, but not after munching on one herself.

"Your human tea is odd, I must admit," Bowler said, "I definitely prefer uppercase tea over this, but I assume you humans would rather drink their own kind, my darling."

"Can you please stop calling me that?"

"But I'm not calling you that. I'm calling you darling." She said, with a completely straight face.

"Can we please just get to the questions?"

"Oh, I love this game!" Bowler began clapping excitedly, before turning to Lara, "do you want to ask first, or me?"

"Uh, I'm the one who should be asking the questions." Zachary pointed out.

"Do you want to go first then?" Bowler asked him.

Zachary decided to just play along. If something went wrong, surely the higher-ups would be able to pull him out of here.

"Fine. What were you doing in the quarantined area?" Zachary said.

"Aw... that question isn't any fun..." Bowler said, looking down at the floor sadly.

"Just please answer it," Zachary felt exhausted already.

"Fine... we were hired by an individual of high power and esteem to figure out where the horde of the Undead came from. Now, my question!" She sat up excitedly.

"I don't think you understand how this works."

"What do you like to do for fun?" Bowler asked him.

Lara and Bowler stared expectantly at him. Zachary assumed he might as well answer it, cause this wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon otherwise.

"Well, I suppose I enjoy going out for a jog every so often, as well as watching movies." Zachary said.

"That answer wasn't satisfactory." Bowler said, looking sad again, "you clearly enjoy doing more than that."

"Can we just move on?" Zachary asked her.

"Fine... Lara, you go next."

Lara took out her pipe sighed, a pink cloud of smoke escaping her lips, before looking up at him. "Do you have any personal preferences when it comes to a desired partner?" She said, with each word another puff of smoke slowly wafted through the air.

Bowler's eyes lit up again as she leaned forward.

"Uh, I guess I don't really have any personal preferences-"