The Voice of the Turtle

"The Voice of the Turtle" was originally published in Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.2 No.17.

Synopsis

Dr. Martin Chefwick happily talks to us about his dreams via his past, how he was looking for Wonderland as a child which made him a laughing stock, he had one friend Lucia, who was just using him whilst she committed small crimes. When he grew up, he accepted that Wonderland and places in fantasy book didn't exist and instead focused on the world of science, which he was very proficient in, and he kept up his 'friendship' with Lucia, who kept asking him for advice and so, over time he created the Mock Turtle suit, when a professional was going to use it and not him, still wanting to be useful to Lucia, he stole the suit and embarked on a life of crime.

He would give his ill-gotten gains to Lucia's 'charities' and he was completely blind to her true ambitions. When Clever Dick told Martin about a crime lord called the Red Queen making the rounds, he was told to take her forces out, which he did successfully and when he returned to Lucia, she flipped out, revealeD that she was the Red Queen and sent the Chessmen after him.

Ending up in Astro City, Chefwick encountered Steeljack, who led the Keifer Street citizens in fighting them off and Chefwick gets a job from Ferguson.