Chapter Three! :D Wooo! Thanks to IndigoScrawl and ZenyZootSuit for the reviews! You two are awesome! And thanks to everyone that favorited/reviwed! :D
I don't own batman... :'(
The white mist sprays out in a burst and envelops her confused face. She sucks in a shocked breath, and his face turns up in a twisted grin.
She starts coughing and a frightened moan comes from her huddled form.
"How do you feel, Jessica?" His voice is low.
"No. No, No! Don't call me that!" She yells, stumbling backwards and thrashing wildly. She hits the wall and falls over, swinging her arms around her.
He walks over to her calmly and crouches next to her. Her eyes don't focus on anything in particular and he is pleased to see that they have dilated in fear.
"What do you fear?" He asks quietly.
Her eyes search for his voice but she doesn't find him. She lets out a small whimper and he clenches his fist.
"Tell me!" He says a little louder.
"Please, no!" She begs. "Get away from me!"
She's fighting it. Scarecrow muses. You're too soft on her. Give her something to really make her fear us.
"How?"
You're letting your feelings get in the way! He chastens. You're wasting the sample!
"I'm doing the best with what I have! Have a little patience!"
Scarecrow groans inwardly and retreats to the back of Crane's head, mumbling incoherently. Crane rolls his eyes and focuses on the woman in front of him. Should he give her another dose? It seems to be working correctly, but she hasn't told him what she fears yet, and he's beginning to feel the frustration set in. It shouldn't be taking this long, whether she grew up watching horror movies or not!
Suddenly, Scarecrow is very aware in Crane's head. In fact, Crane hasn't felt him this strong since he first felt the awareness stirring in his mind. Scarecrow is literally pushing against the walls in his head.
"What are you doing?" Crane hisses.
Scarecrow ignores him and focuses entirely on moving Crane's right arm. No, his right arm.
Crane's arm begins to shake and he stares at it in disbelief. Scarecrow is close to succeeding in his attempt at his own movement.
"No! Stop it." He says.
"I'm not doing anything!" The woman pleads from the ground, distracting Crane.
His arm comes up and touches his face; completely in command of Scarecrow. Crane's face turns down in disbelief, and Scarecrow expresses the equivalent of a grin. Suddenly, the whole picture flips around, and Crane feels a harsh pressure. He tries to move, but can't even blink his own eyes.
"Excellent." Scarecrow whispers, relishing in the movement of his own body.
My body! Crane thinks harshly. That's my body!
"Our body." Scarecrow corrects. "Don't be selfish, Johnny-boy." He stands and grins at his success. This was going to be easy.
"Hello, girrrl." He hisses, lowering his voice to a growl.
She answers with a shriek.
"Tell me what you fearrr." He grabs her chin and turns her face to face him. Her breathing pitches, and he knows he's lost too much time already. She's almost gone, and he needs to know. She obviously is afraid of something and he's not going to let her go without telling him what it is… "Now!" He commands.
"Death." She whispers.
Her body slumps to the side, and he stand up in disgust. He wasted all his time on that? Death? And here he thought that they had finally got someone with a unique fear. Or at least interesting….
Scarecrow moves into the other room, and sits at Crane's desk with a huff. All of that time and energy… Wasted. It was just sick and wrong.
Give me back my body. Crane says.
"Whatever." He feels more tired than after he spoke for the first time. Movement takes a lot more energy than speech. And even his communication with Crane isn't really speech more than it is a thought.
He doesn't fight when Crane pushes for control, and gives it up willingly. Crane on the other hand, sighs deeply and feels an immense joy to be in control again.
"Why would you do that?" Crane demands.
Just wanted to see if I could… Scarecrow's voice is drowsy. Besides, you weren't doing any good.
"I was doing just fine, thank you. I didn't need your interference.
I got you your answer, though, didn't I?
"I suppose… But that doesn't excuse the fact that you crossed a line!"
Don't test me… Scarecrow warns.
"Or what? You gonna try to take control again?"
No. I don't have that kind of energy…
Instead, an image of the hated ebony bird flashes into Crane's mind, and he lets out a yell.
Don't forget that I was created on your fear. Not anyone else's but your own. If you want help with it, and with your experiments, I demand respect. Understand?
Crane breathes in a few breaths to try to calm himself. "Yeah. Yeah I get it."
Good. Scarecrow's thoughts fade to the back of Crane's mind and he takes a few minutes to catch his breath. He then gets to work. He needs to record everything that has been happening and he has to do it now, while it's fresh.
A few days later, Crane has to return to work. He had already gotten rid of any evidence of his stay at the apartment, and was feeling frustrated. He hated to admit it, but he was almost afraid to try again because Scarecrow might try to take over.
He's in his office writing a report, while also trying to ignore Scarecrow's increasingly annoying comments. He's beginning to have a near-constant headache but whether it's actually physical or purely psychological is the question. Scarecrow's presence is more smug than anything, and Crane does his best to ignore it. Yeah, Scarecrow was definitely more effective in getting the information out of the woman than Crane was, but Crane could have definitely gotten the information out of her if Scarecrow hadn't interfered and wasted the crucial minutes.
Sore Loser… Scarecrow adds.
"This isn't a competition. It's about science. Now let me concentrate.
The Amygdala glad is located in the temporal lobe of the brain. Not much is known about this small and almond-like glad, but through my studies, I have made connections between this small part of the brain and fear. Not only does fear stem from this gland, but it also houses memory and emotional ties to a frightening situation."
Small and almond-like? Scarecrow repeats.
"Yes. Why?"
I think you're describing where I reside.
"What?"
That paper you're writing… It's all very familiar to me. Of course I'm not a physical presence in here, but I can almost feel the areas of your brain. And what you're describing sounds like my… main-hub so to speak.
"Than my fear toxin has nothing to do with the central nervous system at all! It goes right to the source of fear." The doctor's eyes light up in wonder. "It's a true success. I'm not just replicating fear, I really am creating it!"
Yes. Did you really think I showed up because you replicated fear? I told you I was the real thing.
"This is amazing." He breathes.
The phone on his desk rings, and he takes a moment before answering it. He feels like gloating and ruling now that he has solved his own question, but he has to remain in control.
"This is Doctor Crane." He says smoothly and purposefully.
"I think that is time to move our operation forward, Crane."
Oh no.
Crane knows that the only reason he would be calling him at work is if he was serious, and his heart sinks because if there is one person that he does fear, it's the man the voice belongs too. Although not strong or threatening alone, Ra's al ghul has plenty of connections that can squash Crane like a bug without his cooperation. And it's not like Crane doesn't want to help. After all, Ra's gave Crane the means to begin his toxin experiments. Without that flower from Asia, it would have taken years for Crane to get his formula right.
"How soon, sir?" He maintains control of his voice, and Scarecrow laughs at the show.
"Am I right in assuming you have made progress with your formula?"
"Yes. Yes I have."
"What form is it?"
"Aerosol for the completed toxin."
"Can it be put into a liquid?"
"Like what?"
"Could you put in in water, but keep the toxicity?"
Crane ran a few calculations through his head. "Yes, but it wouldn't have the same effect. It wouldn't be active in its liquid form."
"I need you to start full production. Get as much of the liquid formed as you can, and I'll send you the supplies you need."
"How?"
"I have my ways. Your first delivery will be in a week. I expect you to begin full production after you receive the first shipment, do you understand?"
"Yes sir. What do I do with the finished product?"
"Dump it all into the water mains. There are several lines below Arkham, and I bet you can find a way to get to them."
"Alright."
"Soon Gotham will be cleansed, and you can begin to rebuild, Crane."
"Thank you, sir."
The line disconnected and Crane couldn't help the excitement begin to build in his chest. Of course it was nerve-wrecking to have an unexpected call from Ra's himself, but the prospect of things moving forward makes Crane smile. Soon, he will be the one in charge, and everyone will know what true fear feels like.
