"And really, even if it was me do you really think there's a single soul fearless enough to stand up in court of law and testify aginst the Scarecorw?"

The trial of Dr. Jonathan Crane was a highly publicized one in Gotham City. The former director of Gotham's infamous Arkham Asylum was being charged for more crimes than you could count on your fingers, from the illegal experiments he preformed on patients to the attacks on what the media now dubbed as "Fear Night." News coverage of the trial was extensive. Sleazy reporters contorted the words of lawyers and witnesses on both sides, making it hard for people to root for the prosecution, despite the horrors the defendant had been accused of.

The defense had initially wanted the doctor to plead insanity, play crazy, act like he was nuts. But Jonathan Crane was much too proud for that and even if his lawyers had tried to get him declared unfit for trial, there's no way any doctor would make that claim. In order for Dr. Crane to have been declared unfit for trial he would've had to have a preexisting mental condition that caused him to commit the crimes. While several arguments could be made for that, the second requirement of an insanity plea was one Dr. Crane did not meet. He would've had to have been unaware that his actions were 'wrong' and Dr. Crane was well aware that what he was doing wasn't exactly moral.

So the defense changed their strategy. The plan was a simple one: Undermine the testimony of every single prosecution witness until the jury saw that the prosecution had no reliable witnesses to testify against Jonathan Crane.

He says my client sprayed him with his toxin?

He's in Arkham how do we know he didn't just imagine this in his fragile mental state?

He says Dr. Crane had drugs imported from Asia?

He works for the mob, we can't trust a word he says

This continued throughout the entirety of the prosecution's case, planting seeds of doubt into the minds of the jurors. That is, until Becky Albright took the stand.

A young college student, Becky was an eyewitness of the events of "Fear Night" and had other witnesses confirm parts of her story. The media was all over her, nicknaming her "Brave Becky" she made headlines and nightly news coverage for weeks. The young law student would later be declared one of the main reasons for the jury's final decision. She was the only truly reliable witness who saw the Scarecrow at the scene and wasn't at the time under the influence of fear toxin.

It was the 3rd day of the trial when Becky was called to testify. The courtroom was packed with reporters and intrigued citizens all awaiting the continuation of the trial. The audience arose and then sat back down as the bailiff announced the judge's arrival. Camera flashes and quite murmuring began the moment the judge sat down.

"Does the Prosecuting have a witness to present?" He asked. He made sure to sit up straight, well aware of the cameras and journalists that littered his courtroom. The prosecuting attorney stood up to answer the judge, careful to conduct himself in the most professional of manners.

"The people call Rebecca Albright to the stand."

Grabbing hold of her cane, the young girl slid passed the people seated next to her and out of the row. Whispers immediately erupted the moment she stood up, mostly commenting on the fact that they were unaware that she was a cripple.

Once Becky was sworn in she took a seat in the witness stand, where she was at first asked a few housekeeping-type questions. Can you please state and spell your full name? How old are you? What is your current occupation? Questions such as these didn't last long and the prosecutor quickly dove into the 'meatier' questions, the ones the people lining the back walls of the courtroom were waiting to have answered.

"Miss Albright, where were you on the night of February 19th of this year?"

There it was. That date that was known to every resident of Gotham City. The night that every lunatic broke out of Arkham. The night that Bruce Wayne turned 30 and burned his house down. The night the train built by the Wayne's crashed down on the ground. The night Gotham almost destroyed itself.

" I was in my apartment with my roommate." Becky answered just like she had practiced and tried not to be distracted by the camera flashes and journalists scribbling down notes. After a few more questions, Becky told the jury that she had left her apartment that night after she heard loud noises coming from outside and wanted to see what was happening. "I walked about two blocks over before I made it to Arkham and saw inmates running out of a hole in the wall. The police began arriving then."

The prosecutor began to pace about the room as he reached the truly important part of Becky's testimony.

" Did you at any time see the defendant that night?"

"Yes I did."

" Can you describe what you saw?"

The prosecutor was practically beaming as Becky began to speak. She told it exactly as she had seen it. Crane had left the asylum wearing an opened straight jacket and holding his mask. He put it on once he was outside.

"He walked up to an officer on a horse and extended his arm," she continued, "The officer collapsed off the horse and Dr. Crane got on the horse. Then the manhole down the street shot into the air."

Through a series of questions and answers Becky tugged on the hearts of they jury as she described the chaos and violence that ensued along with her inevitable inhalation of the toxin.

"Finally, Miss Albright, can you please identify Dr. Crane by where he is seated and what he is wearing?"

The identification of Dr. Crane wasn't really all that critical to the prosecution's case, but the attorney had figured it would be wise to make sure he had Becky identify him, just in case some picky juror wasn't convinced by Becky's story because she never directly pointed out Jonathan Crane.

For the first time in the entire trial, Becky looked at Crane. She had been avoiding doing so, to be sure she stayed focused on her testimony. But now, her testimony was nearly over and she wanted to send him a message. She looked directly into his bright blue eyes as she said, "He's seated at the end of counsel table wearing an orange jumpsuit."

She wanted him to know she wasn't afraid of him. She wouldn't be intimidated by him. He wouldn't shake her. The Scarecrow didn't scare her.

The trial commenced four days later and after an unexpectedly short deliberation, the jury returned with their verdict: Guilty on all charges. The sentencing hearing was nearly as exciting as the trail. Would Crane be sent to Blackgate or Arkham? Becky had hoped for Blackgate, feeling that Arkham was simply not punishment enough for what he had done. However it was decided that the doctor would be sent back to the place where he once tormented those he was hired to help.

He wouldn't stay long though.

The Master of Fear would not give up so easily.