A/N:

Just to let you all know, this Chapter was originally written as part of a much larger update to the story. But that was taking way too long, and I wanted to get something out in a modest fashion, So I hope that you can forgive the strange format of this instalment.

Hopefully, I can get the rest of the Scarecrow story out before the end of the year.

The Fearless

Later.

- Across Gotham -

19: 27

Harleen tiptoes through one of the back alleys, holding a rucksack over her shoulder by the strap. The sounds of cars speeding past echo from the exit of the path, along with the sounds of sirens. She continues along the narrow walkway, "Pssst. B, ya here? Hello? B-man?." She then reaches one of the dumpsters and takes a peek around it, spotting the man that she was calling for. Batman is on the ground, leaning against the side of the dumpster, breathing hazily, "Oh Jesus..."

The blonde kneels to be on eye-level with Bruce as she sets the bag down, "Scary-face did a number on ya, didn't he?"

"F-fine. I'm fine, Harls. Just n-need a minute," Batman holds his throat as he sits up with a staggering grunt, "You got the kit?" He watches the blonde sort through the bag, pulling a small plastic box, "Good. P-pass it over," he holds his shaking hand.

"Nuh-uh, B" Harley makes a point to move the box out of Bruce's reach, "No offence, but you're a mess."

"Believe me when I say that I have experience with patching myself up. Heck, with all the times that I needed Alfred to see to my wounds, I'm pretty sure that I picked up on all his methods" Batman reassures the blonde while he keeps at his attempts to sit straight.

"I saw the footage, B. I heard your screams...I saw you nearly slice your own throat... I don't think that you're in the right state of mind to do it" Harley reaches the vigilante's mask, "Please, I'm beggin' ya. Please just let me take this one...okay?" Bruce thinks it over for a long solid moment before caving to the blonde's whims, answering her with a simple nod. Seeing that she now has Bruce's blessing, she moves on and pulls down his cowl, revealing his face to her.

"You have experience with first-aid on this level?" Bruce asks as he feels the woman's hands come to his neck to pull down the collar of the cape to display his neck. Harley looks at the skin of the man's throat, seeing a large gash at the left side. There wasn't a river of blood coming from it, but it was enough to be concerned. From her guess, Bruce had managed to stop himself just in time to avoid his jugular. She picks out a gauze pad from the box.

"I come from a broken home, B-man. Yeah, I know how to patch up cuts, let's just leave it at that..." She damps the gauze with liquid from a water bottle and gently presses the material to the man's neck, "Hold this, please." Bruce raises his hand to his neck and presses his fingers against the gauze material, letting Harley let go and turn her sights back on the first-aid box, "I was gonna bring ya alcohol for the wound, but I don't think that I can go to the store dressed like this, plus I don't have my ID on me...or money for even the cheapest one."

Bruce grits his teeth as he feels his neck pulse in pain, "Don't worry, It'll do. How steady are your hands?"

Harleen reaches into the box and picks a needle along with some thread, effortless threading it, "As I said, I've had a lotta practice. Ya can trust me with this. It's probably the only thing that I won't mess up. Okay, now for your hand, B."

Bruce looks directly at Harleen while he wipes the gauze around the wound, removing the dried blood, "Oh, look...I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier, Harls. Sometimes... sometimes I forget that I'm not the only one who wants to help..." On the given cue, Bruce removes his glove, showing his blood-stained hand and lets Harley get to work. The woman threads the needle from the skin at the top of Bruce's wound, "You don't always mess up, and even when you do, you have a good reason behind it..."

"Thanks for tryin', B. But you had every right to yell at me, I deserved it" Harley finishes threading Bruce's wound, "Everythin''s that happened is my fault. What Scary-face did to ya...those horrible screams that you made...they're all my fault...I'm worthless" Hearing her words, Bruce raises his hand which trigged a reflex that made Harleen flinch. Whatever she thought was coming was quickly subsided as the man's hand slides over her knuckles. She opens her eyes and sees Bruce looking to her with kindness in his eyes.

"Nothing that happened today is your fault, so stop being hard on yourself. The only person responsible here is Crane. He's solely responsible for his actions." Bruce then holds the blonde's hand tightly, "But you? You journeyed through one of the most crime-ridden cities in the country at night and went down a dark alley where who knows what could have been waiting for you, all to help someone that you care about," the vigilante gives a smile, "So you're not worthless Harls. You're my hero."

"Not worthless...?" Harley repeats Bruce's words. She then comes in closer and wraps her arms around him and pulls him into an embrace, "Thanks, B. I needed that."

Bruce then pats the blonde on the back, "Now, the fun part. Trying to get back to HQ..."

"Oh, don't worry. Lucius had the idea to bring a set of clothes for ya. So ya don't have to worry 'bout walking around in your Bat-jamas," Harleen parts from Bruce and takes out a folded tracksuit and presents it to him, "Hope they're fine for ya. I borrowed them from Harv."

"He let you borrow his clothes?" Bruce asks in confusion, taking the folded clothes from Harleen.

"Without his knowledge, yep! He's still at his check-up. The hardest part was finding the shoes, I swear that once he sorts somethin', it always goes missin'. Half the time he can't even find the stuff he organizes," explained Harleen while she turns away, "Go ahead and change already."

"Where's Lucius, Harls?"

"Oh?" the blonde scratches his scalp, "He said somethin' 'bout going back to Wayne Tower, he thinks there's somethin' there can help."

The Narrows

- Underground -

"You let the Bat go, again? W-why sir? You had him right there for the taking, you could've ended him there..." one of the masked men trembles as he and several others stand around a rounded table. At the centre of his attention was The Scarecrow who looks upon the map beneath him. Crane hovers his hand above the map of the city and traces the tips of his syringes across a marked path that was added to the map. His orange eyes glow upon the surface of the sheet.

"You are too crass. It has never been my intention to kill The Batman, and it never will be. To waste such a valuable specimen like him would be to limit the heights that my research can soar" Scarecrow finishes trailing along the path on the map, "And tell me, why would I ever want to do that?"

"Because the Bat could take you down. Just look at happened to Bane! He let the Bat live when he had him and was then taken down by him" the same henchmen argues, "What is it with all of you guys' fascination with the Bat? He's just a whacko in a Halloween costume."

Scarecrow tilts his head, "Is that what you believe or just what you tell yourself? Your voice tells me that it's the latter. Tell me, are you afraid of him?"

"N-no way. The Bat ain't nothin' special"

Crane looks over the man, pinpointing the signs of fear that he was exerting. His voice, his posture, the lack of eye contact and his gap between words. Crane walks around the table, dragging the syringes on his fingers across the wooden surface, "Fear is indeed a weapon, but one must always keep in mind...," within a quick jolt, he had injected the syringes into the man's neck and grins, "It's a double-edged sword, It can control you just as much as you can control it..."

"Agh!" the henchmen falls to the ground and gags. The other Fearless all disburse from his side, "W-what... D-did..." he gasps. His eyes widen when he hears the sound of glass shattering. Then from within the darkness, he sees a set of white eyes stare back at him. Leaping out of the shadows, a monstrous Batman rushes the man. More beast than man with skin like black leather and fangs, the apparition grabs him by the neck and screeches.

Scarecrow circles around the downed man, "Tell me, what is it that you see? A loved one? Maybe some basic instinctual fear like bugs? Maybe some mythical monster that terrified you as a mere child?" He squats down as sees the guy's reddening fast and bloodshot eyes as his own hands choke him.

From his view, the masked man sees The nightmare Batman above him, drooling all over him as he chokes him.

"Ah. So you are afraid of the Bat? As expected. But I must ask of you, did you want me to take out the Batman? To free you from your fears? Why would I ever do that?"

The apparition of Batman then lifts the man, then slams the back of head into the hard ground which spattered blood across the floor. Then he does it again, again and again in a brutal cycle. Each time the henchman's head becomes more mangled and the floor becomes more bloody until the back of his head was coated in blood and the life in his life vanishes. Scarecrow looks over his world with a look of fascination, landing his eyes upon the man's eyes, "See that my Fearless? This is the power that you all give the Batman. Now I will ask you all, why would I kill a specimen who has become one with fear when I can learn so much from him?"

But, Scarecrow...if you're as confident as you claim, then shouldn't the bat be unimportant to you now? Killing him now will only ensure your plan!"

"Fools... fools that lot of you," Scarecrow flexes the syringes of his glove, "Don't you understand? The Dark Knight is the key to my plan, without him...none of this would've been possible. He is the reason why I stand before you ladies and gentlemen today," holding his arms behind his back, Scarecrow's bright orange eyes narrow, "He thought he could defy human nature by trying to master fear, a feat that I achieved through unimaginable terrors, my mind cannot rest, it refuses to until I decode the madness behind the Batman. I must know what drove him to become such a creature..."

"Then, what's next, boss? We're waiting for you command..." one of the masked follower butts in. This time, the person who interrupts was female, dressed in the fashion as the others, though the rags around her form into a dress near her hips, "We're with you, Scarecrow. All the way, we've seen you take on the Bat. We believe in you."

"Yeah! After we're done, the world will never be the same!"

Scarecrow's light-emitting grin widens, "Oh when we're finished, the world shall be...unrecognizable, you have my word," turning his back on his followers, he makes a path back towards the table, "We've already won, now let's cement our victory with a show that Gotham shall never forget, oh and someone clean that corps up, it's already starting to smell."

- Across Gotham -

- Watchtower -

Harley sits besides Bruce on the stairs, sharing a look of worry with him. Removed from her usually more tumultuous manner, she remains reserved as she passes him a lidded plastic cup, "I got ya a hot chocolate. I know it's not much, but you look like ya need it, B-man." Bruce takes the cup from the woman and sets it beside him.

"Thanks, Harls. You didn't need to do that," Bruce avoids eye contact.

"I needed to do somethin' for ya. Even if it was just that...I wanted to... I just hate seeing you look so down" the blonde says sitting crossed-legged as she wraps her arms around her knees, "You're like the strongest person that I know, Bruce. And also the most closed-off, you need to talk to someone about what you saw."

Bruce slants his neck to look at Harleen, "I apricate what you're doing, I really do, but this...? I know what I saw wasn't real. I know that. It was just Crane's toxin."

"But it wasn't," Harley's blue eyes meet Bruce's, "The fear toxin doesn't just create any old nightmare, it brings out the fears of the one's who is inflicted with it..." she pauses for a moment to gauge Bruce's reaction, "What ya saw wasn't real, but what ya heard? That was all from inside ya, Bruce. Every word of it was just what you think about yourself..."

Bruce looks down to his gloved hand, seeing it shake, "I'm fine. The toxin wore off earlier..."

"That's not why I'm sayin' this," the blonde sighs, "I'm a psychiatrist, remember? Readin' people is kinda my thing..." she looks down to the ground, "I know that I'm not Selina. I know I'm not Alfred, Lucius or Jim. I know that I'm not gonna be the first person ya look to for help, but I am here. I'm sorry that I'm not them...they would know what to say. They would somehow find a way to get through to you...but it's just me here..."

Bruce looks back to the blonde, looking over her frame and lands his eyes on her face, focusing on her soft blues eyes that start to melt his stoic front, "...I said that I'm fine, but you being here for me means a lot but there are just some things that some people just want to keep to themselves. It doesn't mean they don't trust the ones around them, just that there are parts of them that they have yet to figure out."

"I know that B-man...lord knows I have my own skeletons, but I just can't forget your screams. I thought you were dyin'...when I heard them. I've never heard anythin' so... so... bone-chillin'." Harley openly voices her concern for the man, "I don't think ya could be unscathed by that. Bruce...ya need to talk to someone 'bout this..."

"I said that I'm fine. Just...please leave it," Bruce holds his hand over his knee, "Please... just stop."

Harley closes her eyes and breathes in, "No, not this time, B-Man. Closin' yourself off may work on the others, but not me. Shuttin' yourself off is what got ya to this point of breakin'. For once, just this once...please just stop actin' like ya have to be strong or invincible," she continues, "Just this once...be human. Even be vulnerable...for my sake."

"Not happening, Harls. I'm done with feeling helpless. Have been since...that night..." Bruce avoids contact with the blonde.

"No, you're just done with admittin' that ya hurtin'," Harley rests her hand over the man's, "I'm not askin' ya to cry or breakdown. I just wanna hear ya...the real ya. Just tell me somethin' about how ya feel. Just start with one thing...that's all I want..." She waits for Bruce to speak up but soon realizes that he was keeping quiet. It was clear to her that the man wasn't ready to tell her what she wanted to hear. After numerous moments of awkward silence, she decides to change her approach, "Everyone feels vulnerable sometimes, B-Man. It doesn't make us weak...I would even say that's what makes us human."

"That's the problem," Bruce hangs his head low, "I can't be human. I need to be a symbol. That's the only way that I can save Gotham."

Harley turns her torso towards Bruce, taking hold of his hand in her grip, "But who'll save ya? Lettin' all of your pain build up like this, puttin' your wellbein' behind everyone else's... This can't last, B-Man. You're gonna kill yourself if ya keep at this..."

"Maybe you're right, Harls..." the dark-haired man contemplates, "But what choice do I have? People die when I sit back and do nothing...," with a moment of pause, he drinks from the cup, "So I have to keep this up...even if it kills me..."

Harleen slants her body, leaning on Bruce with her shoulder, "But...I don't want that. Why won't ya listen to be, B? You're my friend! I hate seeing ya hurt, so please wouldja please just talk to me!"

After taking another careful sip of the hot chocolate, Bruce sets the cup down by his boots. He then sees that the blonde had changed her position, now resting her head on his shoulder, "...I saw them, Harls. I saw my parents..."

"Oh..." Harleen moves off Bruce and looks away shyly, "I'm sorry for pushin' ya, B-man. I'm probably only gonna make ya feel worse than ya already are."

Breathing in, Bruce turns back to the blonde and does his best to give a smile, "It's fine, really... if I didn't want to talk to ya, I would have left by now. It's just...well, I guess that there are things in life that never get easier, no matter how much time passes..."

"Tell me 'bout it, B..." Harley hugs herself and looks onward into the distance, "Losing my dad was one of the hardest pains that I've ever felt, it still hurts to this day. Watching him go from the most energetic and kindest person that I've ever known to someone who couldn't even remember that he had kids," she rubs her eyes to hide her tears, "Watchin' him rot mentally for years and bein' powerless to save him. Bein' forced to watch him deteriorate, like feelin' that I was the only person in the world who cared about him."

Bruce fights against his own inner voice that tells him to remain closed off. It took all of his willpower, but he manages to bring his arm around Harleen's side and hold her close, "Maybe you were, but I'm sure that was good enough for him. You're amazing, Harls. He couldn't have raised a better kid."

"I... I wish that was true, B. I really do, but after everythin', he did for me, I couldn't even help him. I didn't want to be like my mom or brothers. I wanted my father to know that at least one of us loved him. But I couldn't even do that! I couldn't even stop him from...from...endin' his life. He died thinkin' that none of us loved him..." her cheeks were now coated in tears which reflected the bright blue lights of the room. She holds her hands over her eyes as she weeps, "I found him when I visited, no one even bothered to check on him, B..."

"I get it now. That's the reason why you become a psychiatrist, right? So that you could help people so that they didn't end up like your father. In a way, you used it as a way of making up for not saving him? Wow...that hits way too close to home..."

"Was the plan, but I ended up in a dead-end job at Arkham, workin' with people who couldn't care less about the patients and saw them as more of pests then actual people. I had no friends, I lived in a mess of an apartment and had no one...special in my life to come home to," Harleen gives up on trying to conceal her tears and just lets them flow freely, "I just...wanted to make him proud, but I can't even do that right, let alone anything else..."

Bruce looks away with as a fraught silence fell between them "That's another feeling that I know all too well. That's the hardest part of trying honour the memory of a loved one, you'll never know if you did it right, you'll never know if you did right by them." The dark-haired man now had a look of gloom over him, "Sometimes I wonder if I'm even making a difference. I've been Batman for nearly two years and look at what I've accomplished...Gotham's underworld is just as strong, if not stronger than before I even put on the mask. Scarecrow, Bane, Jeremiah are coming up with plans for crazier than before, all just to get to me. It honestly feels like that I'm only making things worse..."

Harleen dries her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket, "Well, what did ya think was gonna happen, B? Our problems just don't disappear overnight, it doesn't matter how much we try to bury them, they eventually find us again...they always do. "

"...Then it's time that we stop running from our past," Bruce looks back to the reddened blue eyes of the blonde, "No more hiding from our failures. What happened to us...what we felt? We should never forget it, but it's time that we stopped being haunted by it. As much as it pains me to say, I will never make up for not being able to save my parents, but it's time that I accept that I couldn't do a damn thing to help them. I'm done with punishing myself for something that I couldn't control..."

Harley snakes her arms around her legs and looks down, "...I wish that it was as easy as you make it sound, B-man..."

"Easy? No. It'll be anything but easy, but it's a battle that had to happen sooner or later. I know that you're strong enough to face your fears, Harls. You have a good heart and an even greater soul. If you can do it, then so can I" Bruce stands, grabbing the cup by his feet along the way, "I believe in you, kid," he offers a hand to Harley who accepts and lifts herself up to her feet, "It's your call, Harls. I'm going after Crane...you can come along if you want, but it's okay to stay here if you're not up to it."

"A-are ya kiddin'?" Harley widens her eyes, "You're invitin' me along? Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this."

Narrows

A unit of several Checkmate soldiers manage the security checkpoint, they face towards the sight of an oncoming truck. The commander of the unit directs his gaze towards one of the lower-ranked men among him. He gests with his hand to give his selected soldier the order, "Check it out, Rook."

"Yes sir," saluted the soldier, taking towards the vehicle in a steady march.

"You think the Bat will show tonight?" the group begins to talk among their selves.

"You mean here? Nah. Why the hell would he do that? Way too risky."

"Y'know, you're giving a little too much credit to a guy who thinks dressing as an animal somehow makes him scary."

"I hear that, but you gotta hand it to him. It does seem to work. Most of these lowlifes are batshit scared of him."

"Ha! I see what you did there."

The commander reaffirms his poster, drawing the attention of his unit to the fact that he was pressing his finger around the trigger of his gun, "Shut your goddamn mouths you wastes of oxygen!"

"Uh. Yes sir!" the unit all salute and follow the commander's instructions.

Meanwhile, the sent Checkmate soldier comes in close to the truck, steadying his rifle, "This is a restricted area. Turn back immediately or we will be authorized to use deadly force..." he looks through the window of the truck door becoming shocked as he sees a gagged man tied to the seat, "What the-?" The sound of a constant ticking alerts the guard to the restrained man's chest, seeing what looked to be a bomb. With the little time he had, he turns towards the direction of the rest of his unit, "Situation here! Explosive devoice is-" Hitting zero, the device explodes in a large burst of flames that consume the Checkmate solider. Along with the road, leaking from the truck, was gas that quickly spreads out, eventually taking over the whole street.

- Elsewhere -

Watchtower

"Let's do this, B," Harleen holds her hand in a fist, "Fist bump for good luck?," she emphasizes her words with a raise of her eyebrows, "C'mon, land one on me already. Y'know that you wanna." Bruce stares at her blankly for a mere second which felt longer than it should have. Bruce clears his throat.

"Yeah, not doing that, but... I apricate the gesture" Bruce points to the Batsuit, "I'm gonna put the suit on now. Just uh...stay here."

The blonde shrugs and holds her arms up, "Ya don't wanna fist me?"

"Oh, c'mon...why d-do you have to say it like that?" Bruce facepalms as he heads towards the suit chamber, "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

"It's wayyyyyy toooooo soon to decide that," Harley smiles with a slant of her head.

Minutes Later.

Bruce pulls on his black glove up and over his arm and clicks the utility belt around his waist.

Across the room, Harley ties the laces of her boots, splitting her hair into dual pigtails and tying them. She then grabs a metal can from the side and sprays over her right pigtail which turned the tip black. She then repeats the process with her other pigtail, this time using a red dye.

Bruce then arms himself, taking a dozen or more Batarangs from the display case. He then pulls his cowl over his head, along with fitting an oxygen mask over his mouth. Batman curves his arms, allowing for the fins of his gauntlet to eject from the material, and allows his cape to fall, drooping around his shoulders. His eyes now shine bright white.

Harley finishes up soon after, now adorned in her red and black costume and white makeup and dark eyeshadow. With the harness around her chest, she places her sledgehammer. Finally, she too puts on an oxygen mask. She slams her knuckles together and grins, "Let's kick some butt, B-man."

"Never thought that I would ever say this, but that's a plan that I can get behind, Harls" Batman smirks with the shield of the mask to hide it. He then taps his earpiece, "Come in Lucius. We got Crane's location."

"Be careful. Suffering another episode like earlier could deal permanent damage...or worse. And remember, to successfully reverse the strain of toxin, we'll need a pure sample, straight from Crane himself."

"Got it."

"There's more, Mr Wayne. You'll need a specialized container to keep the sample the needed temperature. At the moment, neither the Watchtower nor your suit is equipped with that. The only one is in R&D at Wayne Tower."

"That will take too long, Lucius. Crane needs to be stopped before he causes even more damage," Bruce comments before turning to the blonde, "Harley, I need you to get the container from R&D. Can you do that?"

"Uh...sure...? But what 'bout you, B?" Harleen asks, showing concern for the man.

"I can hold him off until you join me after. I'm counting on you, Harls."

- Across Gotham -

The streets of the city were clouded, hidden behind the thick layer of fear toxin that separates it from the rest of the outside world like it was a completely different realm. Screams and cries of anguish plague the layers of fear that shrouds the streets along with manic shrieks that form from madness. Scarecrow takes his time, pacing through the wonderland of his own design, marvelling at his work. Locking sights of panicked Checkmate Soldiers who fire aimlessly into the night, trying to combat their fears.

Crane's own followers take to the ground, protected from the toxin as they face-off against the still clear-minded agents who too go against the henchmen, firing at them, "Officers down! I repeat, officers down! Require backup!" the Checkmate commander informs before being clocked from behind by one of Scarecrow's men. The agent drops to his knees and is then attacked from the front, this time by a woman who cuts his throat with a sickle.

"That is right my children!" Scarecrow laughs, "Be not afraid, use fear! Become one with it!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

- Meanwhile -

Skylight Club

From high above the streets, Sofia Falcone looks down to the mayhem of Gotham from the safety of the club, along with Black Mask and Tony Zucco. She gives a displeased look, swirling the wine glass that she's holding, "It's always something with this damn city. Such an eyesore...", she frowns.

Sionis sits back in his chair, smoking a cigar, "This is what happens when a woman is left in charge to rule Gotham's crime empire. My boys would've stopped that psycho in his tracks if I was still in charge," he exhales a large cloud of smoke, "This whole night is gonna set us back millions. Our partners aren't going to be too pleased."

"I've had men killed for just looking at me wrong, Roman, you better learn to play nice" Sofia grimaces at her reflection in the window, "Scarecrow has far exceeded the realm of what I would consider acceptable. We usually pay no mind of the lunatics of this city, but this one...he's far too dangerous."

"Why do anything at all?" Black Mask forwards the question to Sofia and Zucco, taking in another inhale of his cigar, " He's bound to draw the attention of a certain someone. I say we leave 'em to each other."

"Batman? You sure that relying on him is a good idea, Roman?" Zucco chimes in.

"I simply see a solution to a problem. One where none of us need lift a finger. I'd say it's a win," Black Mask answers.

"Evidently..." Sofia says in a mere whisper.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Scarecrow swings his scythe and decapitates one of the screaming officers, spraying his front in blood. Crimson red drips from his weapon as he twirls it in his grip, "Show them! Show them all, that those of us who cannot even face their own fears, cannot protect others! Make them realize the true power of our demons!" The villain thrusts his arm up in the air, "Then, only then...will they worship them! Today is the day that the world shall be reborn!"

Heading over to the affected Checkmate soldier that screams bloody murder, Crane slices his scythe across their stomach, disembowelling them with one clean cut. He fixates on the Checkmate soldier, watching them struggle with their last breath to keep in his insides like he was getting some sick pleasure from the sight. Seeing enough, Scarecrow swings his weapon again, this time taking off the man's head, "Those who do not appreciate fear are not welcome to live in it..."

Across the road, another Checkmate Soldier is struck in the head by one of the Fearless that use a bat to smash their helmet. Falling to the ground, the Checkmate guard gasps as his lungs are filled by the fear toxin. Beginning to scream, his vision becomes distorted, becoming a hellish landscape and he seems demonic creatures coming towards him. He crawls away while he reaches for his gun. He then begins open fire indiscriminately within a strained scream, trying to take out the demons that he saw.

In the manic episode, he took out several of the Fearless and a number of his own squad. His crosshair then lands upon another group of what he believed were otherworldly monsters, but what was really before him was merely a family that was hunched up together with the father holding onto his kids of wife tightly. The Checkmate soldier presses his finger against the trigger, curving it in, but before he could take the shot, a Batarang curves in from his side and knocks the gun out of his hand.

Scarecrow and his gang both catch onto the disturbance, aiming their eyes around to locate their enemy, "Oh Batman, so you've finally come," Crane grabs a hold of his scythe, "I hope you find this a welcoming worthy of you, Dark Knight...I tried to make it a killer!" A shadow moves past the ground, belonging to the vigilante. Batman drops down, landing on his knees and holding his fist against the ground. Scarecrow gives little worry to the man's presence, opting to walk towards him in a slow march with his followers behind him, "But so soon? You're truly insane my friend, more than even I could've hypothesised."

"Why, Crane, why?" Batman slowly rises, "You already got what you wanted! Why do this? What can you possibly gain from this?"

Crane stops his movement, buckling his arms and holds his hands together, "Of all of the specimen in this city, I expected you to understand," he then rearms himself with his scythe, "That a man with nothing to lose, is a man who is beyond fear, beyond your brutish tactics..."

"We'll see...," Batman cracks his knuckles, "I know how to cure your toxin, Crane. Give me the fear toxin now and I'll only leave you with a few broken bones!" he growls, his voice being carried throughout the street.

Scarecrow lifts his chin and displays a wide grin, holding his arms out, "By all means, if you want my fear toxin, then come, Dark Knight. Come and have as much as you could possibly handle...," he breaks out into a sprint towards the vigilante, dragged the blade of his scythe on the ground which caused sparks to fly, "Show the world which one of us is the masters of fears!" he lunges forward and holds the scythe over his head as he becomes inbound to Batman.

Slashing down, Crane's scythe is blocked by the vigilante's gauntlets which caused an array of sparks to catch them both, dazing them for a short moment, "The mask. Why don't you take it off and take solace in your fears..." Scarecrow was back on the prowl, striking with a flurry of blitzes from his weapon, each collision between it and the vigilante's armour brings life an ignition of sparks, each new set being more lively than the last.

On the next swing, Batman traps the blade of the scythe between his curved arm, "This whole *fear-shtick* of yours is getting tiresome, Crane," he then delivers a single hard strike of his fist to Scarecrow's mask which held enough force to knock him off his feet and his hold of the scythe. Batman then curves his knee and snaps the scythe over it, throwing the now two parts off to his sides, "You already know that you're no match for me, Crane...so why even try?"

"Because we do not fall prey to our fears, Dark Knight. You will never break us," Scarecrow grasps the chin of his now dented mask with of eye lenses being cracked, causing the light of his mask to flicker. He makes a ploy to stand, curving his arm around his knee, "This is our way, the way of the Fearless."

"We?" Batman's white eyes survey his surroundings, beyond the smog of the fear toxin he can make out numerous figures that were coming closer along with the ones that were already clear as day to him, "Making your friends do your dirty work, Crane? Too scared to do it yourself?"

"A man without fear is a man without hope, but a group without fear is a group without doubt," Scarecrow chuckles, as two of the Fearless come in at his side, both bearing weapons. One was a man dressed in rages with neon-orange eyes with his mask, holding a Morning Star. The other was clearly feminine from her frame who bares dual sickles which she holds by their chains, "In more profound words, you're all alone, Dark Knight!," Scarecrow looks between the two Fearless at his side, "Take him."

The first to move was the one using the sickles, she leaps forward and swings them by their chains, reaching a distance of six-foot with each swing. Batman was quick on the defensive, managing to roll over the path of the sickles, however, his cape was victim to the weapons and was shredded by both sickles. Coming in from his right, was the man who swings his Morning Star which Batman slides out of the way off. The vigilante then grabs the Fearless' arm and throws him over his shoulder, hurling him hard onto the ground.

His instincts then scream at him, telling him to move. Batman sees the sickle-baring Fearless dual swing her sickles at him, which he makes a move to block their path. He lifts his gauntlets to protect himself against them. It half worked with his gauntlets completely shielding him from one of the Sickles, but the second swung just low enough to avoid the collision, cutting across his biceps and tearing the Batsuit. Batman then growls in pain and with that, the sickles were swung again, this time now unblocked by the Dark Knight.

The curve blades cut the vigilante's knee and chest, with the Bat symbol taking the brunt of the attack. With his new moments of daze, he was then hit across his back with the Morning Star that was held by the male Fearless which throws Batman onto the ground with immense force, "Not so tough now are you, big man. How'd you like being the weak one?" The Fearless man hangs the Morning Star over his shoulder, watching over Batman's movements.

The other Fearless comes in behind the Dark Knight, allowing for her sickles to drop to the ground while she drags them along with the chains that she held tightly, "My brother was comatose because of you! Now...you're gonna suffer just like you made him...all the fear he felt...is now gonna be yours" Batman picks himself off the ground, pushing himself up.

"Try it" Batman dares, driving the Fearless to swing her sickles at him, which he caught. He manoeuvres his arm and has the sickle ensnare around his arm. He then yanks with all his might and swings the Fearless over his shoulder and collide her with the other Fearless. The pair were thrown to the ground in one quick motion, "It's over, Crane...There's nothing that you can throw at me...that I c-can..." stumbled the dark knight, feeling himself become dizzy, "C-can't..."

"Oh? Is that so, Dark Knight?" Scarecrow gives a soft chuckle, "My compatriots could not beat you, I was aware of that, but their weapons are a different case. See, I made sure to soak them within my latest batch, which you'll now find is directly in your bloodstream," the villain's eyes reflect the wavering vigilante. Batman traces his finger across the cut to his bicep, twitching his hand, "Allow me to welcome you back to your fears, Batman." Scarecrow moves his arms behind his back while both of the Fearless get back on their feet.

"Cr-C-Crane..." Batman's eyes widen as he looks up, being greeted by the sight of his rotting parents, though even more decayed, "N-No..."

"Yes, Dark Knight. Your demons have finally caught you, now what will you do?" Scarecrow grins, "If you refuse to face your fears, then they will have to face you, Dark Knight," he snaps his fingers, signalling the duo at his side to ready up. But from Batman's view, he only sees the dishevelled forms of his parents come his way. Batman, still wobbling, barely able to stand straight and shakes his head and lifts his fists, "Show me. Show me why you are the perfect specimen..."

"Your tricks won't work this time, Crane..." Batman moves out of the way of the strike from the Morning Star, but he's then thrown off balance as, from the side, one of the sickles wraps around his leg and pulls him away.

"That remains to be seen...that remains to be seen..." Scarecrow stretches out the length of his words, slowing them to a grind.

To Be Continued...