AN: A lot of people guessed Joker. As much as I love the Joker, I really can't stand the YJ-version of him. At least his image anyway. As for the people who guessed Scarecrow? Congratulations, you got it. Specifically late 90's early 00's comic book version of him for the story.

Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday, christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday, took ill on Thursday, grew worse on Friday, died on Saturday, buried on Sunday, that is the end of Solomon Grundy.

... No. He most certainly was not the gray, hulking zombie known as Solomon Grundy. Nor did he come up with the rhyme, but he certainly wishes he had.

Nothing like a chilling reminder that the average mere mortal is doomed from the beginning to follow an already planned out path leading from the temporary state of the living to join the others in the land of the dead to really strike fear into one's heart. But he was so much more adversarial than Grundy.

Dr. Johnathan Crane, better known as Scarecrow, had a vast amount of knowledge on the psychology of fear and its chemistry to make up for what he lacked in mere brawn. While not physically intimidating, one knew not to take the good doctor in a heads-on fight lest they risk losing an arm from his scythe or getting struck by a gangly limb of his that moved in a blur of what one can only describe as violent dancing.

The gun was just for back up.

Throwing the metal heater aside, Scarecrow took up his trusty scythe instead. His preferred weapon of choice.

"Now, to what pleasure do I owe this?" The man taunted, sauntering forth with an intimidating swagger making the hair on the back of Danny's neck stand up.

"Surrender now, Scarecrow. Or we will use force," Aquadlad warned dangerously, unsheathing his water-bearers to prove his point. The others took to his lead and presented their own weapons or powers, knowing that a fight will most likely be going down. Danny; however, fell behind. His heart was thudding in his chest and his anxiety was high. With a worried look on his face, he knew he could easily disappear and not have to face this man nor these kids ever again. It would be so easy.

Scarecrow paid little heed to his warning though, and instead responded by hurling his scyth at the Kid Flash, his expert aiming made sure to fly over Aqualad and Artemis who were still standing in front of him like guardians. A second of hesitation, and that was all it took for Danny to recklessly abandoned all previous worries and compose himself. Quickly becoming intangible, he darted over to where the Speedster was laying in a slowly accumulating pool of his own blood. He reached out, and almost instantaneously Kid Flash had took on a state of shallow depth as well.

The scythe passed through them both harmlessly, the edge of the sharp blade sticking to the wall instead right where Wally's sinewy and blood-drenched neck should have been.

Convinced now that this would not be a situation for negotiation, the others quickly attacked. Arrows and birdarangs were let forth in a volley of deadly projectiles, all of them sure to make their mark. The good doctor; unfortunately, had a few tricks up his sleeve.

A grim mockery of a smile adorned by his lips would have been interpreted by anyone as nothing but bad news had it not been hidden under that mask. With a series of grotesque and inhuman movements, by bending and snapping his limbs in such a way that Danny was sure they would break, the boogeyman had dodged every violent projectile with relative ease.

"It's my turn," Scarecrow announced, revealing the ace up his sleeve. Throwing a few of something round and decorated with what Danny could have sworn were skulls, a green smoke-like substance emitted from them upon impact, giving Scarecrow enough coverage to hide. Smoke bombs?

Robin's eyes widened with realization, knowing full well that these were not merely smoke bombs.

"Hold your breath!" He managed to get out, but risked inhaling some of the chemical as soon as he opened his mouth. It was too late for the others as well, as they had not heard Robin's warning in time. Soon, they were all on their hands and knees swatting at their own invisible demons. Demons that were not actually there.

"What's happening to them?" Danny whispered anxiously, his eyes darting between Artemis who had balled up into a fetal position crying about disappearing cats, and Miss Martian with her palms held tightly against her temples and an expressionless face taking up her features that looked eerie compared to the streams of tears running down her face.

"They've inhaled Scarecrow's fear toxin, and are experiencing their own worst fears right now," Kid Flash spoke up in a raspy and wretched voice, "we weren't affected by it because you've been keeping us intangible. It passed right through our system."

"So what do we do now?"

When Danny hadn't gotten an immediate response, he tore his gaze from the bewildering sight to look at the redheaded speedster. He had passed out and was no longer conscience from the blood loss. While the blood flow had already slowed down to a mere trickle due to his regeneration powers, Wally was still nowhere near his Uncle Barry's level, leaving for plenty of time for enough blood to leave his body until the brain hadn't enough oxygen to keep alert.

Checking Kid Flash's heart beat and breathing, both of which were normal, the half-ghost carefully set him down and took back his intangibility. Wally had no more use for it.

Nervously looking around, Danny noted that the toxin was still thick in the air, making it hard to see. Rising up, he started floating away from the wall and more towards the middle of the large room. About all the wailing, crying, and screaming around him, Danny managed to catch sight of a large figure approaching him. With white-hot energy already gathering in the palm of his hands, he raised them with full intention to attack. As the figure got closer though, he let the would-have-been ghost ray dissipate.

"Superboy? How are you still OK?" Phantom asked, somewhat relieved that one of them had made it.

Instead of answering, the clone held a hand over his mouth and nose. He had been holding his breath this entire time, his Kryptonian physiology making it possible. Then he took his hand and used a finger to point downwards, towards the floor.

Danny nodded in comprehension, and grabbed him by the wrist. They both quickly sunk through the ground and onto the floor below them. Compared to all the noise from before, it was almost unnervingly quiet now.

"How's Wally?" The clone questioned gruffly, as soon as Danny let go and they both became visible to the human eye.

"Alive. But unconscious," he replied, having to crane his neck a bit so as to be able to make eye contact with the much taller boy. He nodded, and for a moment seemed to daze out. His eyes glanced up and to the right for a few short moments before he finally growled and screwed his eyes shut.

"I can't make contact with M'gann. It's like she's not even there," he stated, fury and worry coating his tone painfully. Danny gave him a sympathetic look and took in a breath. He needed to clear his mind to think straight.

"We need to save the others," he said deliberately and slowly, stating their goal.

"Then why don't you go help them the same way you did with me? Just bring them down here."

"They won't want to be helped while they're all still in that mental state. They're all at their most dangerous when they don't know what's real and what isn't. I won't be able to do anything without risking them hurting either of us or themselves."

Superboy lifted an eyebrow at this curious explanation. "How do you know?"

"... I just do," Danny explained lamely and looked away, wracking his brain for more ideas.

"If I can get Scarecrow out of the way, do you think you can get the toxin out of the room somehow?" It made sense to Phantom that the five heroes would not get better anytime soon as long as they were still breathing in the nightmare-inducing drug.

"Well, yeah. Probably."

"Ok. Just wait here and go back up when I give the signal."

Before Superboy even had the chance to ask for what the signal was, Danny disappeared before his very eyes.

"This better work, Phantom." He muttered to no one but himself.

With his head poking through the ground, Phantom assessed the situation. The toxin had thinned out somewhat, but its effects certainly did not. Artemis and Miss Martian were still in the same predicament he had left them in, and Aqualad and Robin were in a similar one themselves.

Looking around, he finally found Scarecrow's tall figure stalking around, enjoying their reactions gleefully.

"Ha, even the most noble and reserved hero will reduce to a groveling, drooling idiot when exposed to my fear toxin," he noted smugly, satisfied.

Phantom unnecessarily glided over quietly to where Scarecrow was. Directly beneath him now, he wrapped his hands around the man's bony ankles and shared his intangibility with him. With one quick yank, the ghost boy dragged the maniacal doctor through the floor and not-so-gently threw him outside of the building where he landed through the window of a different building in the courtyard and crashed there.

Danny wasted no time and shot after him, but not before shouting out a quick "Now!" to Superboy.

Superboy didn't have to wait long for the signal. In less than a minute, he saw Scarecrow's outline slipping onto the ceiling and then being hurled outside. It sounded like a nasty crash, but the clone didn't get the chance to go check it out.

Although he couldn't see him, he most distinctly heard Danny's piercing voice.

"Now!" it seemed to come out of nowhere, but he listened.

Taking in a deep breath, he held it and leaped up the stairs in a single jump. Going through the hole that he had made previously, he noticed that the others were still... under the influence, at the moment. And that the green toxin was still heavily in the air.

Using his superbreath, he breathed out violently. Strong enough to break the windows on the other side of the room, the toxin emptied out into the outside air. The others, though they had actually been moved several feet by the large gust of wind, appeared to have not even registered it.

Finding the green alien, he darted to her side and put his hands around her shoulder.

"M'gann! M'gann, come on! Snap out of it!"

No response. Just the same shock-stricken, tear-ridden face.

"Nngh. S'perboy," someone had hoarsely mumbled out his name.

"Robin! You're better. The others, when will they-"

"Soon. It was only a small amount of toxin. Probably just enough for a distraction so that Scarecrow could make a quick getaway," the Boy Wonder replied, more coherently this time. Attempting to stand up, he stumbled and used the wall for support. Making his way to Kid Flash, he checked him over. Still alive. Good.

Sighing in relief, he plopped himself down next to him.

"Where's Phantom and Scarecrow?"

"Well..."

AN: Haha, of course I had to give a shout out to ol' Grundy. I was so excited to see him in Arkham City (which I've finally finished btw). Bastard didn't go down easily.

Thanks to everyone's that reviewed. I promise that the next chapter will come a bit earlier. Perhaps this weekend, but no promises.