Metroid-Lain-V2 and I thought this up the other day while talking about Jonny and his over whelming love for popcorn and butterscotch candies. Somehow this made its way into this. Please don't ask, merely enjoy and review!
I don't own Jonathan Crane or antyhing remotely DC Comic related. I wish I did, however I do not. The Fear Corn is property of myself and Metroid-Lain-V2 over at DA after a lengthy discussion about stupid things and me being run down by Jonny in the Batmobile. Alfred Hitchcock belongs The Birds and is a master of horror worthy of Jonathan's praise I think.
A night at the movies wasn't something that Jonathan Crane normally indulged in, let alone looked forward to with relish. As a child he hadn't been allowed such frivolous things in life like movies, and therefore didn't understand the need for them. However he did understand that the human population as a whole was far different from him, varying in tastes and ideals to the point where they could actually be called "alien" compared to him. For this reason he decided that on Friday night he was going to the movies.
It had been ages since he'd been anywhere near a theater, opting for libraries or chemical supply companies instead, so he decided that in order for this night to be at least somewhat enjoyable he had to go out and "theater hunt," so to speak. That was how he stumbled upon Shadow Box Theater.
The theater itself was a larger, slightly run down joint that advertised with a large old style marquee that broadcasted to the entire contents of West 75th street. It had only caught his eye because he was walking alone, late at night, in the shadow cast by the obnoxious yellow lights and it was glaring off his glasses in a way that it made it physically difficult to see. It hadn't been on his list, but when he saw it he immediately knew that this was the theater he was going to attend on Friday night because of the movie they were showing.
The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock.
It was a classic to say the least, the way the Master of Horror turned perfectly ordinary, everyday creatures into weapons of mass fear and panic. Much like himself, if Jonathan did say so himself, and the way he used his Fear Toxin to show the good people of Gotham what they were truly made out of. Fear had a way of doing that to even the toughest of people. Batman and his entire gang had fallen to its terrifying grip, Superman had fallen to it, most of the Justice League and the Injustice League had fallen to it, and Crane was happy to show them what it tasted like.
But year after year, countless cheesy horror films had been produced one right after another, each one being absolutely worse than the one before it had been. It had all been rather frustrating looking for movies to go and see since every single one of them had titles such as "Dead Alien Zombies 2" which really stood for "Watch half nude prostitutes run around in drenched outfits and gore!." Take it from him, the last time he had gone to see a movie he had made such a mistake. It made him extremely upset to see the good genre of Horror go to such a waste, especially since they had all the advances in imaging and graphics with which to make it better.
It truly disappointed him.
All he was asking for was one good movie, one even he'd go to see, so that he could rejoin the decrepit workings of society for one night. And it seemed that whatever power was listening to the underbelly of Gotham and all of its inhabitants, had heard him and his wish. The Shadow Box Theater had been sent from the Gods of Fear themselves, Jonathan was sure. So he'd accepted the offered invitation with relish, making sure to plan everything out just so he could get the most enjoyment out of the night.
When Friday evening finally rolled around, Jonathan donned his best suit and set out for the theater. It only took him forty minutes or so to get there because his newest hideout was rather close to his newest form of entertainment. That being said, all Jonathan Crane had to do was walk out of his "house" and start for the theater in order to kick the evening off proper.
When he arrived at the late night showing, Jonathan immediately recognized the line outside the building as being one of patrons waiting for the doors to open. He was mildly surprised to see so many eager people waiting for a movie that he thought wouldn't hold the interest of today's youth, let alone attract whole hordes of people! This night was shaping up to be better and better for him.
After waiting in line and paying for his ticket, yes he did do this on occasion; he waited in line at the refreshment counter for his favorite snack food. He didn't often splurge on junk food or candy, it just wasn't in his nature, but when he saw the assortment of candies he just had to chuckle. There was a small box of licorice entitled Crows in one end of the glass cabinet with several other bird themed treats, while at the other end were the normal candies they had for sale every day. They were really going all out on this whole Alfred Hitchcock premier.
"What can I get you tonight sir?" asked an over enthusiastic counter worker from behind his place at the concessions table.
"I'll have a small popcorn, a small iced tea, and a box of those 'Crows' please." He said, his doctor's voice automatically kicking in.
"That'll be ten dollars sir, thank you and come again!" The kid never stopped smiling.
"Oh, you bet I'll be coming back if this night goes well enough…" he said quietly to himself as he turned around and headed into the large theater space.
The room was designed like an old fashioned movie theater was, with rows starting at the lower end of the room near the screen and then gradually moving up so that each row behind it was slightly higher than the last. It was different from the stadium seating that most megaplexes had today, which made Jonathan feel a bit more at home in the slightly unnerving situation of social interaction.
His popcorn, which still lay uneaten next to him, had started to release steam above it and smell absolutely delicious.
But as the theater grew dark and the movie began to play, Jonathan decided that he should shrug of the feelings of insecurity and try to enjoy the film. There were several groups of teenagers sitting in various positions around the theater in large clusters with other movie goers mixed in between them, Jonathan being one of them. They all chatted idly through the old black and white credits and only stilled when the man himself came on towards the end of the last one, giving the movie his old time introduction that he was so very fond of.
About third way into the movie, and through his box of licorice with only the box to spare, was when the real fun started. It started as the slightest twitch of a few members of the audience, the feeling of dread he noted, and began to grow in action and sound as the movie went on and the bird attacks became more prevalent. Slight mutters of terror reached his ears along with the sound of muffled screaming, crying, and terrified, painful gasps as if something were attacking the crowd.
At one point a lady had stood up screamed "They're biting me, please, help, get them off of me!" before running towards the theater exit to fling open the doors and run into the cool night air of downtown Gotham City.
A few of the other members had given her uneasy glances before returning back to their popcorn and movie, fidgeting in their seats slightly. After another ten or fifteen minutes, a few more people began to freak out in the first few isles start tearing people closest to them apart with their own bare hands in what could only be described as "Terrorized Insanity."
Screams rang though out the night as Jonathan Crane, aka the Scarecrow, was left sitting alone in his chair in the wake of a frenzied and terrified crowd of movie goers. He sat there, still smiling and sipping away at his soda and listening to the noisy cries of those who had sat around him not ten minutes prior.
That was how movies were supposed to affect people.
The Man of Horror himself would have been pleased with his handiwork. It was exactly how Jonathan had planned it when he'd replaced the movie theater's shipment of popping corn with his very own special batch of Fear Corn not a few days earlier.