Chapter 11: Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself (Fin)

Gotham University

We now see Michael or rather now Batman, watching over the university and patrolling around the area to see if the one that is attacking the school would make an appearance. Batman had been patrolling around the area for almost an hour and kept a low profile as he didn't want students to be any more scared than they already are. He also called Vampirella and Black Canary to come to join him as soon as they can. He had this deep feeling that there was more to this case - attacks on the university are more than meets the eye.

Batman then saw a helicopter flying in and caused his eyes to narrow on the said copter that was flying towards the rooftop of the university. That was not a news helicopter and got the bat's attention to take a closer look. He had a feeling whoever is piloting that copter might be behind the terrorist attacks.

We shall see how this goes.

Banking Files Room

Within one of the file rooms, we see it was kind of like a small bank that has the school's financing, and so on. We see a few men wearing gasmask bursting down into the room and their leader stepping down which scared the security guard who he was looking at.

The leader was something out of a horror movie, a true nightmarish creature. He was a cross of a living scarecrow and a skeletal corpse while wearing a brown jacket that was torn up, and blue pants that were worn out. His face was like a living scarecrow one while his eyes and mouth glow bright orange. He had a chained hook-like sickle to his side & a brown handbag by his side. He brought this deep and uneasy fear into the fear, he was fear itself.

This was the Master of Fear himself, the Scarecrow, and was here to bring fear onto the very place that destroyed him those years ago.

"Hold it right there!" The security guard shouted, trying his best to sound brave but was shaking and his aim was off, being afraid.

"You are afraid...good," Scarecrow smirked before being his left hand up, unleashing this powerful green gas onto the guard, causing him to cough out of control and back away from the person that gassed him.

The security guard kept coughing until screaming in pure terror at seeing what was crawling all around his body.

"Help! SPIDERS! Get them off me!" He shouted, struggling to get the spiders off of him, but there was nothing on him in reality, and suffering the effects of what Scarecrow had done to him.

"Fear of spiders, interesting terror. A classic and such sweet taste," Scarecrow smirked before snapping his fingers and having his men get to work who are really glad to be wearing a gas mask.

The men then placed bombs on the vault door, blowing the said doors off and allowing the Master of Fear to walk right in. His smirk never left his face and was looking for good old revenge on the very university that try to destroy him.

"Geroge, Nehil, Buster. You three stand guard," Scarecrow ordered.

"Right boss," The three replied, allowing one of the men to go with the boss into the vault.

"Here we are," Scarecrow said, starting to unlock all of the file lockers which had a lot of files on students, staff, and former as well. And a large amount of money.

"Come to papa," The mobster who was with Scarecrow said with a smirk and started putting the money into the bag, connecting it.

"Collect what you can, then burn the rest," Scarecrow ordered.

"Burn it, boss?" He asked in surprise.

"This is not about money! This is about...sweet revenge and terror," The embodiment of fear explained.

The money would help with buying chemicals and testing but not revenge. It won't help and needs to send a personal message to those fools for trying to destroy him. They will suffer and shall face their greatest fears.

The three guards outside were soon taken down in a quick amount of time and one of them dropped their shotgun onto the floor, causing a loud crack on the floor for others to hear.

This caused Scarecrow to look at the blasted vault door and know that someone was there.

"Boss?" The thug asked.

"Start the fire and regroup like we plan if things don't go to originally. I will deal with the unwanted guest to this experiment," Scarecrow said, bringing out his stickle but it didn't take long for the greeting and coming face to face with the Bat himself.

Batman first expected a gang when he saw the guards but that was thrown out when he heard a security guard still shivering in fear and mumbling about spiders. And the thugs were gas masks. This caused him to be on guard and now see the danger in front of him. The person that dress up as a scarecrow and this one were very different from the comics.

"Ah, the rumors were true...a man, a bat that makes the criminal world so afraid," Scarecrow stated before laughing in amusement.

"You know nothing of real fear, Batman. But...as a doctor, I can show you what fear truly means. No one will ever dare to place themselves on my throne...as the Master of Fear," Scarecrow said, having his sickle chain out and sprung it, waiting to attack.

The thug then started the fire, having the vault in flames, slowly burning away and the said thug make his escape, not going to stand in between this wildfire.

Batman made a mental note to chase after that thug once he was done with Scarecrow which he dodged the first attack from a swing of the chained sickle. He had to close the gap between the two and dashed towards the walking pile of straws.

Scarecrow pulled out a gas bomb, unleashing a powerful green gas toward the bat, to expose him to his Fear Gas.

"Mask - smoke filter," Batman mumbled, having his inside face guard to have air filters to get the toxic and gas out, not to affect him.

Scarecrow frowned at that as the gas was done and hummed in thought like he was impressed. Batman was very resourceful and will equip it seems.

"Huh? Impressive, Batman. Most impressive," Scarecrow commented, gripping his sickle and swinging it at the bat & used his chains as well, getting Batman to double back and dodged the attacks.

Batman then grabbed the chain, wrapped it around his arm, and soon pulled Scarecrow towards him, surprising him greatly, and soon grabbed the collar of his worn-out shirt. He then disarmed the crow from his sickle and glared at the walking pile of straw in front of him.

Scarecrow did not lose the smirk on his face and had got right where he wanted the bat. Right in front of him.

"I am curious Batman. Your mask filters out smoke and gas but I wonder what a direct toxic exposure dose against it?" Scarecrow asked before he took a deep breath in and unleashed this thick brown gas out of his mouth, unleashing that thick form of fog right into the bat's face and surprising him greatly.

Batman coughed uncontrol, causing him to let go of Scarecrow who was laughing maniacally, and wonder what hidden terror keeps the bat awake at night. He coughed more and more while swinging his arms to punch or grab the Master of Fear but was starting to lose it seems.

The Dark Knight, in his vision, saw that the vault was undamaged and different. He was surprised and thought that maybe he was fighting nothing at all. Maybe he failed and was out for hours by this strange version of Scarecrow's gas? Those questions kept spinning in his mind for some odd reason.

Failing, failing, failure, failure! Worthless failure!

Batman grunted as he held his head in pain with his hands, trying to block those voices. The voices of his past from his former family always mocked him in everything in life. Always pushing him down and being a failure!

"Hold on a second...," Batman thought, stopping his panic and suddenly calming himself down, using his mind and thinking clearly.

The Bat walked over to the vault door, pushing it but nothing happened like he was not touching anything at all. He was only seeing them from his mind. That, the voices, and a sudden rush of fear caused him to figure out what happened to him.

"I have been affected by Scarecrow's Fear Toxin from a deep exposure. Much more than his Fear Gas and my faceguard can't protect me from front & deep exposure like that. This version is very dangerous and smart, different as well," Batman thought, figuring out where he was or not a place at all.

Before Batman's eyes, everything started shattering apart before his eyes and soon fell downwards which he used his cape to glide down, stopping his fall and soon discovering where he was now. This was like a dream, one that was not under his control, a nightmare world due to being affected by the Scarecrow.

Then a massive giant version of Scarecrow suddenly appeared, having the whole area covered in more nightmarish and the landscape hard to escape. And his eyes were glowing with power, looking for the bat.

"You're in my world now!" His voice boomed throughout the whole area and caused the Bat to hide in the shadows, avoiding the light from the crow's eyes that were searching for him.

Batman kept quiet and stuck to the shadows, not allowing the nightmare version of Scarecrow to spot him. He needed to escape this nightmare world and back to the real world before that crow escaped into the flock. He climbed in different directions and kept going forward while dodging the yellow lights. He know what he had to do and escape, using all of his sheer amount of will to escape this nightmare and fearful world.

It took some doing and dodging but Batman was able to reach the makeshift version of the Bat Singal, flicking the light switch and pointing at the massive nightmare Scarecrow. The nightmare screamed in pure terror and pain as the massive white light shines onto him, causing the whole area to break apart and reveal that he was outside the vault now, back to the real world.

"Impossible!" Scarecrow shouted in disbelief, not believing what he was seeing before his eyes. Someone escaped his Fear Toxic.

Batman took some deep breaths, getting some fresh air within his mask, and soon stared at the scared Scarecrow who couldn't beleive this.

"Impossible! Without fear, life is nothing," Scarecrow stated, taking out a pistol and would end this fearless person before him.

"That's where you are wrong, I overcome my fears every day!" Batman shouted, throwing a batarang and knocking the said pistol out of his opponent's hands.

Scarecrow grunted in pain and soon throw many smoke bombs onto the ground, releasing this cloud of green and yellow smoke that caused the bat to not go into the said fog. He didn't know if his mask defense system was back on or not. He frowned once seeing the fog had lifted and that the said Master of Fear was gone before his eyes.

Batman looked up and saw the helicopter taking off, leaving him to his thoughts and unanswered questions as well. He would have to make a case file onto Scarecrow and who's behind that nightmarish skin. He then heard a loud crash which caused him to look out the window, seeing the thug that escaped early throwing the manhole and escaping into the sewers.

The Dark Knight was going after the rat before he escapes as he could have answers to where Scarecrow was hiding out, not allowing a dangerous man to escape from him.

Unknown to the Bat, he was being watched the whole time and it was hard to see who was watching him. All it was seen, was this orange-colored bandana flowing with the wind and a pair of eyes narrowing with great intention toward the target. Oh, this should be interesting.

Sewers - East

"God, I hate that smell. I'm taking a lot of sewers and cleaning up my equipment after this is done," Batman thought, not much a fan of the sewers but had to tough it up.

The young man was glad that he was a bat instead of a rat and enjoys the fresh clean air in the sky than down here. What was that thug thinking of going down here? Most likely to escape in fear of him or what his former boss would do to him for running on him. There's that and moving on.

Batman then heard a buzzing sound in his ear, his com-line and someone was trying to get a hold of him.

"Go ahead," Batman said, pushing the button on his cowl's right side.

"Soo, we are here but where are you?" Vampirella asked, sounding a bit annoyed for some reason.

"In the sewers, going after one of Scarecrow's men," Batman replied.

"Scarecrow?" Black Canary and Vampirella raised an eyebrow at that.

"Trust me, you have to see it to believe it. Question the three men I left back at the vault, I am going after this one down here. Scarecrow has gotten away, a case file would be opened on him and discover more of his motives as well. Attacking the school is not just about money, it's something else," Batman informed, seeing how Scarecrow follows into something much more than money, wants to see the world burn around him for personal revenge and become the King of Fear on the throne.

Unknown to the Bat as he was speaking, he was being followed as we see a pair of yellow slite eyes on top of the water before going back down.

Seeing it was dark, Batman snapped a light stick on, brightly up the path before him he walks more into the dark.

"Well be sure to take a shower after you are done and try to ease up. You know that Rocky and I clean your suit after all," Vampirella pointed out.

"No promises but I would do my best. Hmm, it seems the little bird might've flown the coup. It's like a maze down here, I going to head back soon," Batman said, not noticing bubbles were forming up behind him and he wasn't alone.

"Sounds like a good idea. We cuffed the thugs for the police to pick up and might need to head back for more information about this Scarecrow guy," Black Canary informed.

"Will do," Batman said, ending the com-line and turning around to head back but soon become deeply surprised as something came at him, pushing him down into the water.

The Dark Knight struggled as a pair of massive hands with claws gripped him and shove him into the water to drown. The Bat reached for something within his belt, a taser, and pull the trigger, launching three stingers and snapping whatever was trying to drown him in the water. He heard this deep scream of pain and a hissing sound as well. He got up out of the water and launched a powerful kick into the gut of the beast that attack, which was actually true as his eyes widen in surprise at whoever was in front of him.

A massive humanoid-like crocodile that was about eight or nine feet tall, covered in muscle and green scales like an actual crocodile. He wore blue pants that seems to be worn out, ankle chains, wrist chains, collar chains around his neck, and cloth wrapping around his forearms. He had yellow-green slit eyes like a reptile, sharp teeth like a crocodile, claws aimed at ripping flesh or metal apart, and lastly a massively long tail.

"Ssss...stop!" The beast said, surprising the bat.

The crocodile then grabbed onto Batman's neck and shouted right in his face, "STOP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Batman's eyes widen in surprise and soon saw clearly who attacked him but also that this was a person, not an animal.

"Please, whoever you are...just leave me alone," The crocodile human said, shoving the bat off him and sounding tired despite his voice being this reptile and dark one.

"Leave you alone? You were the one trying to kill and eat me," Batman stated, while also having an idea of who this person was before him.

"I don't eat people asshole, hissssss!" The crocodile man hissed in anger, seeming to be normal, and not into eating humans.

"I am one, too you know. I thought you were another one of those Gothamites out to shoot and bagged me for one of those bounties they place on me. 'Living Human Crocodile', is all bullshite if you ask me. They also do it," The crocodile added.

Batman was quiet and soon saw the crocodile pointing at his tail, showing an old bear trap wound that has healed a while ago but also showing some on his chest that was a gun wound and lastly a knife wound to his rips.

"They always shoot, stab, trap, or try to burn me...just go away," The crocodile man said, clearly wanting to be left alone.

Batman reached down and pick up his light stick.

"Who are you?" Batman asked, clearly on his mind and already know who this was in front of him but wanted some answers.

"My name is Waylon Jones but I mainly am called Killer Croc down here. I stayed down here for god knows how long, I was born like this. I am not a metahuman nor have gotten those crazy excitements I have been hearing about of late. I was born like this, it's a medical skin condition," Jones or Killer Croc explained.

"Must have been a hard life," Batman admitted, feeling pity for the giant croc person and would have been a hard time growing up like that.

"I couldn't control the way I look. My mam tried to flesh me down the sewers while my pap, wanted me to be a soldier like him. I just wish to be left alone, in the darkness, down here where I feel like home and the homeless I feel good company with," Killer Croc further explained.

"People live down here?" Batman asked in almost surprise.

"Most do. Many corrupted cops and gangs push them down here. They live here or use this part of the sewers to use as an escape path toward Crime Alley, in & out. I protect them, and they help give me good food. It's a good deal, for the likes of me," Killer Croc replied with a struggle of his shoulders.

"Interesting," Batman commented.

"Do you feel that way? And understand that?" Killer Croc asked.

"I do...and I would leave you alone. I was chasing someone but it seems I lost him," Batman replied, seeing he should leave the human crocodile to himself down here and the company he was part of.

Croc was surprised by that and someone was willing to leave, leave him alone.

"Also if you need any help, you can always look above the ground, at the sky, and follow it. You would know where to go," Batman informed.

"Follow? Follow what?" Killer Croc asked.

"You'll see...also what happened to a guy wearing a gas mask who came down here?" Batman said then asked if Croc saw this thug down here.

"Yeah...he shit his pants when he saw me. Took off running, he's long gone now," Croc informed, recalling the little man from earlier before meeting the Bat.

"Most would do that," Batman commented before the pair found themselves at the same entrance that he came down here.

"This is where we part ways Bats," Killer Croc stated, allowing his new friend to climb onto the latter to leave.

"Indeed it is Croc but anything can happen. Gotham never has a dull moment," Batman pointed out.

"That's the truth," Killer Croc agreed before taking his leave and heading back home, to his lair and see if one of his buddies have some food today.

"Francine, Rocky, and Dinah are not going to beleive what I came face to face down here. Well, they are in for a surprise as much I was on meeting a version of Croc that doesn't eat people but just wants to live down here alone and in peace with the company of friends he made with homeless people & poor from Crime Alley. Expect the unexpected it seems the common theme that keeps building up of late," Batman thought as he climbed out of the sewers and breathed in fresh air into his lungs, what felt like hours down there but mainly was just thirty minutes.