The scarecrow swung his scythe into the wooden pole the boy was tied to.

"…Harryyyyy…" The name rolled from his throat like bile rising.

The boy winced and whimpered at the tall man crouched over him, a full six inches taller. Jonathan's icy eyes narrowed under the burlap of his mask, his tongue flicking out to taste the fear practically oozing into the air. Hayden fought to scramble back but the stake he was tied to was wedged firmly into the ground. Crane stepped over to the elaborate mix of chemicals, an index finger guiding both pairs of eyes to the labels.

A jagged fingernail scraped over the dirty duct tape scribbled on in pencil while Jonathan's eyes scrutinized Hayden's. The boy's eyes widened when the finger touched a bottle labeled 'Alien'.

"Oh? You've seen the movie? Then you must have observed how painfully agonizing it was to have a living thing burst from your abdomen?" Harry's pupil's dilated as his breathing became heavier.

Jon plucked the vial from the shelf and tapped some into a small jar, making sure the boy could hear every drop fall. After replacing the bottle, he continued browsing the shelves, stopping when a particularly high pitched squeal came from the younger boy's throat.

"Heights?" Jon chuckled, a disconcerting noise in the dank room that lingered I the cobwebs and hung in the air like dust. "A bit ordinary don't you think?" His awkward shoulders hunched next to the same jar with the other toxins, pouring a few drops. "We all must have our common phobias though...I wonder if you knew Becky's. It's one I quite understand."

Harry's eyes widened even more at the mention of that name.

Jonathan's figure grew impossibly menacing as the fingers flew from the bottle to the scythe protruding from above the boy's head.

"You remember her, don't you?" Jon hissed lividly. The sculpted blade found the curve of Harry's neck and pressed into the clammy flesh, causing a sharp intake of breath from him. "It was just last week wasn't it? You remember the dance?"

Harry shook his head as fast as he could to keep the cut from getting deeper.

"Don'T LiE!" Scarecrow screamed at him. "HoW DaRE YoU ToUCh WHat'S MiNE!"

Harry's gasp of surprise died in his dry mouth as the ropes chafed against his raw wrists. A single tear ran down the stained cheek as the air was cut off from his esophagus. The blade was a flash of silver and then searing pain on his side showed its head. His eyes squeezed shut as the blood trickled down to his leg.

Crane admired the gash on the boy's ribs, pressing his finger into the mess and being rewarded with a scream of misery. It was music to his ears.

"Let's get down to the main event, shall we?" Jonathan plucked an empty syringe from his stand and filled it with the fluid in the small jar. He flicked the glass gently and plodded back to the stake, positioning the needle in the Carotid artery of Harry's neck.

"Do you know what this will do to you, child?" He sneered. The boy's eyes darted from the professor's to the sharp prod pressed against him.

"You will first feel a stirring in your stomach, not unpleasant, simply enough to notice. As the hours pass the stirring will get worse and worse until it feels like something is eating you from the inside out. A head will emerge from your gut and as it turns to look at you suddenly you're on top of the world...until you begin to fall. All the while you fall; a brick wall will materialize every fifty feet. You break through each and every one only to see a thicker one below you. Finally, you land in a metal chair, strapped down and watching your mother be tortured all because it was you…fault…did I mention I added in some 'Saw III' at the end?"

Harry shook his head and tried screaming in vain as the serum was pushed into his neck.

Jonathan stepped back and pulled the bloody gloves off, setting them on the table as Harry's twitching started. He glanced over at the boy's glazed, horrified eyes as the tears started flowing. A rare smile slid onto Crane's face as he pulled his coat on.

"Now if you'd excuse me, I have a class to lecture."