Bruce
Wayne Manor

"I'll start by apologizing. I should have looped you all in earlier. This guy moves fast and I wasn't expecting such a large attack."

"You had your reasons," Kate said. "Tell us what we're dealing with and we'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Dr. Jonathan Crane." He pulled his picture up on the screen. "Genius-level intellect. He's worked at Arkham for the last six years. Impeccable record and a reputation for helping even the most disturbed patients."

"Except Dent," Tim added.

"Except Dent. He moved him to a low security facility so he could get out."

"Why him?"

"Mutual interests."

"You?" Barb asked.

"Yes. Dent is always after me, but so was Elliot. Dent needed Elliot's help, Elliot needed Dent's help. Crane saw an opportunity. He wanted to do a test on Batman."

"So, he gave the toxin to Dent, but not enough to do large-scale damage."

"He used them. He always knew Dent would wind up back in Arkham and that Elliot was too crazy to not get caught." He changed to a blurry image from the drone. "He's calling himself The Scarecrow."

"Not a very good costume," Tim said.

"Zatanna said she saw a different image under the toxin's influence. I saw a thin man dressed in rags. She saw a tall, clawed monster."

"And when she saw you?"

He looked down at this hands. "A demon. She thought Hell had opened up. There's a lot about her trip to Hell I haven't told you all...and won't...but needless to say, it haunts her."

"I'd be more surprised if it didn't. We have any idea how to find this guy?"

"Well, he's not home," Bruce said, pulling up pictures of his abandoned apartment. "There wasn't much there. Just some furniture. No traces of the toxin, so he has a lab somewhere that I don't know about."

Barb moved to the keyboard. "Any idea where he's getting the components?"

"Black market...so not really. I was hoping that he was foolish enough to use his credentials at Arkham to secure some of them, but he isn't a fool."

"The delivery system?"

"Rudimentary. Worked well enough on Zatanna, but bent like paper against my armor. Just needles on the end of each finger. Only one got directly into her bloodstream. The rest went into muscle or hit bone. After his failed attempt on me, it's safe to say he'll be working on something more effective."

"Vic said he had to use dialysis to get it out of her system," Tim said.

"Yes. We can't afford to let him try that on someone who doesn't have access to the tech we have. Zee would still be under the influence of it now, if not for the Watchtower."

"So, we need to start squeezing some contacts."

"To start with. Try to cut off his supply. My guess is he's ready for that, though. He wouldn't have launched that attack if he wasn't already prepping for a bigger one. Especially since he's gone into hiding. No more Dr. Crane. Just Scarecrow."

"GCPD?" Barb asked.

"You mean your dad? Still pissed at me. I don't really blame him. We're talking now, at least."

"Good. I'm not on anyone's side. I just want you two to kiss and make up," Barb said with a smirk. "I'll start with some known suppliers of the weird and wild when it comes to chemicals. Tim, if you want to start asking around about pharmacy robberies or lost shipments."

"Got it."

Bruce nodded. "Kate, you'll help me with video analysis from the attack. I've reviewed about a quarter of it, but it's slow work and the quality is terrible, thanks to the toxic cloud. Anything that can tell us where he went after the roof."

"Did you find out how he was able to open the cell doors?" Kate asked.

"Pretty simple hack, unfortunately. That wasn't maximum security. All he had to do was tap into the code they were using for the electronic locks. Batman has already updated the system there and across the city. It won't happen again."

"Good. I was able to return the escapees easily enough. They were just as terrified from the toxin as everyone else."

"Deaths?"

"None, amazingly. Some critical injuries, but everyone should pull through."

"Good work, everyone. It was a mess, but it could have been a lot worse. Let's make sure his next attempt doesn't even get off of the ground."

"You got it, Bruce. We good? Alfred's doing that thing where he makes something that smells good during the meeting." Tim stood and looked to the door.

"Yeah, go ahead," Bruce grumbled. "Always getting upstaged by the butler." They all headed out. "Keep your gas masks with you!"

Okay, I really am a dad.

He sat back down at the computer and pulled up more video feeds. They were making his head hurt, but they were the only real hope he had for finding a lead on Crane's location. He had used the chaos to slip out of the front door and into the night. From there, he had yet to find another image – not that any of the images were clear enough to tell more than basic body type and height. If he shed his disguise, which he most certainly would have, it would be nearly impossible to track him.

Just one frame. Tell me where you went.

Zatanna
Batcave

She didn't use Batman's computers often, but she needed to do some research. Bruce was upstairs working out and watching Thomas, so she had the cave to herself. Pulling up satellite feeds, she honed in on Los Angeles. Tsaritsa might be able to sense her peeking in mentally, but she wouldn't be able to sense a video feed from space. She typed in the coordinates to monitor her downtown office and her home. It was nosy, yes, but her experience with the toxin had her even more on edge. Bruce would be annoyed that she wasn't leaving it alone and Diana would probably be just as bad. That would be something she could deal with later; right now she needed peace of mind.

"Okay, that may or may not be how you set that," she said with a shrug, switching the computer back off. She turned to head upstairs and a bat buzzed her head. "Nice to meet you, too." Spooky down here alone.

Once settled into her meditation room, she tried to focus on anything but the hellish nightmares she'd seen while under the toxin's influence. She hadn't been having much luck. They were still so fresh in her mind that they dominated her thoughts throughout much of the day. The fear had faded, but the cause of it was still out there. She needed to fix the rip between dimensions before her fears could become reality.

"Raelc ym dnim." Legs crossed, she focused on happier things. Thomas's laugh. Bruce's eyes. Applause after a show. Her father teaching her magic. Her father helping her with The Darkness. The burning. The rip. Death. Horrors. "Shit!"

Lowering her legs back to the floor, she paced around the room. Come on brain, be nice to yourself for once. She was finding it easiest to forget about the toxic nightmares when she was busy, so she decided to forgo meditation and head up to see how exercise was progressing. Thomas's laughter was carrying down the hallway while she walked to the upstairs gym. Easing the door open, she took in the scene. Bruce had a dumbbell in his right hand and Thomas's ankles in his left. He lifted them up and out to the side, then back down. After several reps, Thomas caught sight of her.

"Mama," he giggled. "I help."

"I see that. Bruce, honey?"

"Mm?" He completed another rep.

"How heavy is that dumbbell?"

"135." Another rep and laugh.

"And Thomas is..."

"Yeah, less. But the wiggling adds some resistance."

"How long has he been upside down?"

"Minute or two." He brought him up to dangle in front of his face. "Guess he is a bit red. Here." Swinging him out, he flopped the giggler into her arms. Once she put him down, he wobbled around and toppled over like a drunkard.

"Might need to supervise you two."

Bruce smiled and finished his shoulder raises with a regular weight in his left hand. Once Thomas was able to stand up straight, he headed back over to be picked up again. Bruce put him on his back and dropped down to the floor to do slightly-weighted push-ups.

"You didn't meditate long."

"I didn't meditate. Couldn't focus."

"Why not?"

"Just couldn't."

He glanced up at her. "You're obsessing again."

"I'm not. At least I'm not trying to. I can't clear my mind since that night."

Continuing on with his routine, he moved Thomas to stand next to him and handed him his own set of foam dumbbells so he could do fake curls. "Tell me what I can do."

"Lobotomy?"

He frowned at her. "Not funny."

"I don't know. I just need to forget and get over it. Figured meditation would help, but it isn't working." Quietly, he continued on with his clone at his side, who was mimicking his movements as best he could. "I want to help."

He dropped his dumbbells. "C'mere."

Confused, she stood and walked to him. Before she could think, he stooped down and grabbed her upper legs to pick her up. She latched onto his shoulders and crossed her ankles behind his back. "Uh..."

Jumping up, he grabbed the pull-up bar and grinned. "Ready?" He lifted them upward, the bar passing between their faces, then back down. Up, then down.

"This isn't what I meant," she said, smiling.

"I know. But this is more fun."

"I'll give you that." She pecked his lips at the apex of his rep. "I want to help."

"Gotham is my job."

"Blah blah. You use the same lines over and over." Up and down. "Any good performance artist knows that you have to get new material or the act gets stale."

Up and down. "Act, huh?"

"A very good one, but yes. Batman is the best show in Gotham."

Up and down. "Better than your act?"

"I'm not playing in Gotham right now."

He laughed. Up and down. "How do you want to help?"

"However I can."

Up and down. "Be at the next team meeting."

"Oh. Okay. Awesome." She wasn't expecting him to agree so easily, and she sure wasn't going to ask questions. He finished with another ten reps before dropping down and returning her to the floor. Thomas had moved on to a miniature punching bag Bruce had hung at his level. He swung his best little punches at it, working hard and grunting.

"He's going to be a fighter."

"No surprise there. You'll have to do training two nights a week, eventually. One for him and one for me."

"I can live with that. Want to go to the restaurant for dinner?"

"You sure you have time?"

"Yeah, Barb is covering for a couple of hours. Have promises to keep." He picked his little fighter up, slinging him over his shoulder. "Let's go shower, tough guy."

"Dada dada dada." Thomas chanted while they walked to the bedroom.

Quite the duo.

She got ready and gathered her things, including the pair of gas masks Bruce was making her carry. She shuddered at the thought of having to use the smaller one, but it was a relief that he wasn't trying to make her a Wayne Manor prisoner again. Alfred drove them to the restaurant and they let Thomas choose his dinner: spaghetti with meatballs and yogurt. Not exactly the typical combination, but the chef was happy to cater to his star customer's desires. There was even a new bath toy to go along with it, as if he had ordered a kid's meal at a fast food joint.

"He's going to want to come here every day," Zatanna said, watching him wreck the kid-sized pile of spaghetti.

Bruce was watching him with an amused look. He was obviously making more of an effort to spend time with him lately, and Thomas was thrilled. So was she. Seeing them both happy around each other was the best gift she could have ever received. Thinking back, she remembered what seemed like the surreal time of believing Bruce would never want to meet their son. It felt like a lifetime ago...a dream...a hallucination. Now, he was in training to be the best little sidekick Bruce could ask for.

"Maybe we should install a bathtub here. Kid eats like a rabid doberman."

"Nope. Make him walk out in messy shame," she said.

"Yeah, right. Look how proud he is of himself."

He was. He was very proud of the mess and would proudly show it to anyone who cared to give him attention. The waitress was fully enamored, making sure his sippy cup stayed full and even wiping his face when she stopped in to check on them.

"He's trouble. Gonna be a bigger ladies man than his father."

"Hey," Bruce said, suddenly serious. "No one is a bigger ladies man than his father."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Stop it."

Chuckling, he finished his meal and started wiping down the sauce-covered kid.

"You ready? I need to work the rest of the night."

"Yes. Thanks for making the time. This was fun."

"You're welcome," he said, leaning over to kiss her. "We'll do it again next week. Breakfast, maybe."

She smiled and took Thomas from his high chair. "Works for us."

Scarecrow

Thrusting his claws forward, he tried to dig into the armor. The needles still weren't strong enough for even Kevlar. Odds were that Batman had more advanced technology than that. The way he'd survived all of the attempts on his life over the years was miraculous. Or lucky. He had to be scarred from head to toe. The scars on his psyche were the most interesting, though. What drives a man to do what he does?

He needed to learn the weak points of his armor. The citizens of Gotham would be easy enough to cleanse, but not so long as their protector was a threat. He would have to draw him out – tempt him into the open. But none of that would matter if he couldn't penetrate the armor.

The temperature was high enough, so he dropped the pieces of steel in to melt down. He would have to balance effectiveness with strength and weight. It wouldn't do him any good if the claws were so heavy that he couldn't lift his arm. Once the metal was melted, he poured it into the mold. It would take a while to cool, but he could be patient if it meant getting things right. The difficult part would be intel on the armor. Most reliable sources on Batman interactions were locked up in Blackgate or Arkham, and he no longer worked there. He only worked in his lab now. Until the job was finished.

Zatanna
Wayne Manor

"Wanna sit with Aunt Kate?"

Thomas nodded and waddled over to her, climbing to sit on her lap with his blanket in hand.

"Hey, kid. We need to get you a cape and mask so you fit in," Kate said, checking out his new Batman pajamas.

"He talked about you all day yesterday," Zee said, sitting down on the couch.

"Really? What did he say?"

"Beats me, but it sounded important. He was very animated. I'm going to assume it was 'I want to sit with Aunt Kate at the meeting' until proven otherwise. Everything else is up to you to interpret."

Kate smiled and leaned back. "I'll take it."

Bruce walked in, all business, and sat down at the monitors.

"Tell me what we have so far."

Tim handed over a piece of paper. "These pharmacies all reported missing shipments and stock of amphetamines and benzos. They were investigated, but the cops hit a dead end."

Barb handed him her report. "Significant uptick in purchases of everything from LSD to peyote to mushrooms. Nothing linked to Crane, though."

"Yeah, I doubt he's walking the streets to purchase them himself," Kate said.

"Right. And the few buyers whose names I was able to get have mysteriously disappeared."

Bruce pursed his lips and nodded. "So, he gets someone on the streets to do his buying and then makes sure they can't talk once he secures the drugs."

"Seems that way. Most were ex-military, down on their luck looking to make money. Knew how to get a job done, but when they went missing, no one really reported it or followed up."

Zatanna watched Bruce's eyes, seeing how much everything about Crane was infuriating him.

"Using the invisible as a means to an end," he said. "Zatanna, do you want to tell them what you experienced on the toxin?"

She nodded. "At first, similar to what Bruce felt when he breathed in the toxin. My fears were becoming reality. Losing magic, losing Bruce, Hell on Earth thanks to my inter-dimensional meddling. It was all completely real in the moment."

"And then he injected you," Bruce added.

"Yes. Everything was multiplied by about a million. Even sedated, the horrors were still there."

She could see him wince out of the corner of her eye.

"When you woke?" Kate asked.

"It all seemed like memories that had actually happened, but I could feel my magic again. Without that, I probably would have still been screaming."

"It grounded you."

"To a degree. I immediately knew that one part of what I had felt was false...or at least temporary. I could feel Shadowcrest. Having seen Bruce go through the same thing and him being there alone with me brought me back to reality quickly."

"She has an advantage that most people wouldn't," Bruce said. "She's a lot harder to fool."

"Speaking from experience?" Tim smirked at him.

"Yes, he is," Zee said. Bruce grinned and shook his head. "It's lucky I was the one Crane encountered. Not that I care to do it again, but if it had been one of the prisoners or Catwoman, or anyone else around, the outcome might have been different."

"I wouldn't call it 'lucky'," Bruce grumbled. "You're still having nightmares and can't meditate."

She rolled her eyes. "But it could have been a lot worse. I'm sane...as I ever was, anyway."

"That's a rather difficult standard to measure in this room," Kate said. "Except you...you're fine." She hugged Thomas, who was barely awake. It was fair to say he was the most sane person in the room.

"Zatanna wants to help," Bruce said...surprisingly without an edge to his voice.

"That should make life easier," Tim said. "Can you track him?"

"We're going to try that first, but I'm not sure."

"His apartment was pretty bare. Without something that held meaning for him, she probably won't be able to just transport us to him, but she's going to try."

"So, if that doesn't work, I'll be doing whatever else I can along the way."

"Alfred is working on a suit for her so he can't inject her," Bruce said, barely containing his glee.

"And you're way too excited about that," she said with a glare. He'd been trying to armor her up since they met and he was finally getting his way. "I'm ditching it as soon as he's in prison."

"We'll see," he said arrogantly. "You might like it."

"I won't. I won't like it and I won't keep it."

"You haven't even seen it yet!"

"Guys?" Kate finally said. "Can you two save the old married couple routine until after the meeting?"

"Not keeping it," Zatanna muttered under her breath.

Bruce threw a pencil that hit her in the side of the head. "Moving on. Standard patrols and stay in communication. We'll have one drone up at all times, even during the day. Daytime feed goes to the Watchtower. It can scan for pockets of the toxin."

Zee threw the pencil back at him twice as hard, but he caught it.

"Dada?"

"Yeah, son?"

"Go fim?"

"No, we can't go swim. It's 8:00pm and 35 degrees outside." He stood and took him from Kate. "Okay, I guess swimming was the last topic we needed to discuss."

"Swimming does sound nice," Barb said. "How do you not have an indoor pool?"

"Yeah, billionaire. Seems kind of odd," Tim added. "Heated lap pool...hot tub."

"Oh, and a sauna!"

"I'm going to stop inviting you all to the meeting," Bruce said. "Just me and Thomas and a lot less lip."

They all laughed and stood to head out. Bruce walked over and sat next to Zatanna on the couch. Thomas was laying on his shoulder and snuggling his blanket.

"Thank you for letting me be here," she said.

"Thank you for helping. I don't want a repeat of the other night."

"Me, either." She looked over at him. "You know the rules. I'm all in on this. Don't keep me on the sidelines."

He nodded without looking her in the eyes. "All in. Wearing armor and never leaving your gear behind."

"That's the deal." She'd had to make some concessions to get him to let her help and she wasn't going to test his seriousness. He was always serious.

"I'm monitoring tonight. I thought I would have company for a while, but I don't think he'll be staying awake." He transferred the drowsy kid to her. They'd had another big play day with his friends and he was tuckered out.

"He's not sleepy. He wants to go swim," she said.

"Fim?"

"When it's warmer, sweetie." She looked over at Bruce, who seemed to be deep in thought. "Oh, god. You're not actually thinking about building him an indoor pool, are you?"

His eyes shot to hers briefly. "No..."

"Bruce, seriously, he can live without an indoor pool. He's little...a bathtub is basically a pool."

"He'll get bigger."

"And might not even like swimming."

"Kids always like swimming."

"Fim?"

"Shh, don't encourage him."

"We'd all use it, you heard the others."

Zatanna stood. "Good lord. We're just...we're going to go eat and go to bed."

Bruce kept talking while she walked out. "He could have friends over. Ups the property value. The orphanage could use it for events..."

I married a madman.

Batman
GCPD

"Read your report on Crane." Gordon was still being a bit curt.

"We've made sure all possible lines of supply have been cut off. The video feeds were a dead end. Batwoman and I combed through everything. He slipped out of the front door and disappeared."

"You're expecting another attack."

"Yes. He basically told me as much on the roof. Said he wanted to 'cleanse' Gotham...set it free."

"Free from what?"

"From everything I've seen so far? Sanity."

Gordon walked to the edge of the roof. "It's good you and your people were there. Could have been worse."

"We're doing everything we can."

"Keep the smoke in supply and be ready with that immobilization pulse, but I'd rather catch the guy first."

"You and me both," Batman said. "I'll be in touch."

He returned to the Batmobile and turned toward Crane's apartment. Zatanna was due to meet him there to see if she could get a hit. She showed up in her usual League costume.

"Where's your armor?"

"Not finished. I have my mask and beacon and phone and crap and junk," she rambled, looking around at the expensive, but almost-empty apartment. "This isn't great."

"I know. Not doubting your skills, but I'm not expecting much."

She started going through drawers while he searched the closets. "Did you see this?"

He walked back to her and took a flash drive from her hand.

"No, but I hadn't done a search yet. I wanted to get you here before I messed around with things too much. Where was it?"

"Kitchen drawer by the fridge. What are the odds he just forgot it?"

"Low." He inserted the drive into the reader on his arm and projected the image onto the wall.

"Batman," Scarecrow said when the video started. "You probably think of me as an enemy. I'm not. You've spent years trying to cleanse Gotham of the need to fear criminals. Now, you get your wish. That's the thing about fear: you experience enough of it and it purifies your mind. Your friend on the roof knows. She sees it now. I'm not your enemy. I am your ally. Soon, all of Gotham will no longer fear the dark alleys. They'll no longer need you to be their savior. Soon, they will take the power of fearlessness and reclaim their city. You will see and you will be grateful, Batman."

The recording ended and he looked over at Zatanna. "So, do you 'see it now'...friend?"

"I see a batshit crazy bastard who wants to sow chaos and is trying to justify it. So, if that's what he meant then, sure. I see it now." She took the drive from him. "Doubt I can track off of this, but I'll give it a go while you keep looking...friend."

He returned to searching the house while she stayed behind in the kitchen, mumbling spells and occasionally cursing when they failed.

"Well, if that's not working, then this is a dead end," he said after opening every drawer and searching every nook and cranny.

"Dammit." She tossed the drive back to him. "I want to find this guy."

"So do I," he said, walking over and putting his arms around her. "And we will...together."

She nodded and kissed him. "I need to get home. Got a kid to put to bed."

"Okay. Tell him I said goodnight. I'll see you in the morning."

*Thank you to everyone reading. I see the numbers and am humbled that you're following my crazy journey with me!