DISCLAIMER: Danger Mouse (2015) belongs to CBBC!
This is pretty much a one-shot for now. I'll probably expand it if it's worth getting expanded like I did with Shards.
A phobia is a fear of an object or a situation that may poses little real danger, but it does provoke anxiety and annoyance.
But unlike the anxiety some people feel like having to give out a speech to the rest of the world or taking a math test, a phobia is always long-lasting which can affect a mouse's ability to function normally at work or in social setting.
His arachnophobia, the fear of spiders to the less intelligent, have nearly put the world in harm's way which is in the form of a gigantic spider - the creator of the world wide web, also known as the internet to, again, the less intelligent.
He had every right to be scared. Cor, not everyone can be tough as nails like Batman or Wolverine. He had every right to scream like a girl and hide under the couch after taking notice of a spider's presence in the bathroom while he was having a shower. He had every right to ask Penfold, of all people, to get rid of the spider, which he managed to do so without hesitation.
The problem for it is that he's the world's greatest secret agent. He was supposed to be brave and heroic. Not a scared coward like Penfold.
"Oi! Who are you calling a coward?!" yelled an irritated Penfold.
Sorry about that, Penfold.
Now where was I? Oh yes! He was supposed to be brave and heroic. He was not allowed to show any signs of fear because the world looks up to him like he's their hero. Their interpretation of what being a hero is.
He was supposed to be the guy that always saves the day.
The guy that always do the right thing.
The guy that always come up with brilliant plans.
"Brilliant is such a strong word." said a sarcastic Professor Squawkencluck.
Do you mind, Professor? I'm trying to narrate this fanfiction!
"Proceed." said an irritated Professor Squawkencluck.
But, even the toughest of superheroes can show signs of fear and weakness every once in a while. For example, Superman's most famous weakness is Kryptonite, a material that can weaken the Man of Steel. Some people have witnessed the Man of Steel being weakened by Kryptonite, and even showed fear of it, but they still view Superman as their hero, regardless of his weakness.
But sometimes, even the most normal of civilians won't take kindly to see their hero showing any fears in public. There are some who believe that heroes should be brave and strong 24/7 and never show any fear, or have any at all. If heroes do show any fear, some civilians would start acting like whiny brats and accuse those heroes of being nothing more than scaredy cats.
"As if they don't have any fear to begin with." Danger Mouse said. "Honestly. What's wrong with society these days?"
This is what scares Danger Mouse if somehow his arachnophobia is revealed in public. Of course, he's not above being a prideful egotist when it comes to doing the one job he truly loves the most, but being outright rejected by the people he had vowed to risk his own life (even at the point of losing his other eye) to protect just because he is afraid of spiders is the last thing he wanted to experience.
And it's not even spiders in general that he's afraid of. Heck, he's not even afraid of a tiny spider when it landed on the palm of his hands. It's actually the big spiders he's afraid of.
The big spiders that could possibly be big enough to eat a mouse whole. Just like snakes.
It had happened to his father when he was a teenager. A big spider who had just robbed the Bank of England had ramsacked his parent's home when he was a young teenager that cruel, fateful night. Back then, he didn't need to wear an eye-patch and he still has both his eyes. His father had told him and his mother to find a safe place to hide while he deals with the giant spider, despite Danger Mouse's protests to help his old man take care of the intruder.
Back then, he wasn't afraid of big spiders.
But all of that changes when he and his mother were looking at the scene from the keyhole of the closet door and saw the most horrific thing they have ever seen. It was more horrific than any other horror movies.
His father had tried fighting against the spider one-on-one, but he ended up being eaten alive by that spider. Just watching the spider eating his father slowly and painfully almost made Danger Mouse feel nauseated, being forced to have the urge to throw up at the nearest hat he could find in the closet. But he knew better than that. Not to mention that the spider had not yet notice him and his mother's presence, and neither of them wanted to know what would happen to them if the spider finished eating the older mouse and searches for them for desserts.
Danger Mouse could felt wet tears coming out from both of his eyes when the spider gobbled up what's left of his father. His mother did the same thing as her son did. Even though they weren't crying physically unless they want to be the spider's desserts, they were crying mentally.
Their small cries went unnoticed by the spider as he takes the TV from its nightstand in the living room and left their home in a hurry as police sirens drew near.
The police couldn't find the spider that robbed their home, nor could they find the body of Danger Mouse's father. It must've already been digested by now. What they do found that's is left of his father was his old pipe he used to smoke from whenever he reads the daily newspapers on a clear, sunny morning in London.
That dark and stormy night eventually gave birth to his arachnophobia - a fear of spiders.
Every since that night, Danger Mouse had been having recurring nightmares about huge spiders eating him and his kind night after night. His arachnophobia has been feeding on his nightmares ever since, and it's getting stronger than before, up till the point where he couldn't hide his phobia from the others any longer.
Penfold has already figured it out. Now it's time to tell Professor Squawkencluck and Colonel K his arachnophobia, and its origins.