Jonathan Crane stood his ground as one by one, thugs began to rise from the chairs at the tables in the Desert Island. Shifting slightly, the Master of Fear positioned himself a bit in front of Edward Nygma, only to find that the Riddler was trying to shift in front of the Scarecrow.
The thugs began to advance and Jonathan tried to figure out how many he could take on at once. He knew kung-fu, but he was sorely out of practice since his…accident and there was no way he could take on all of the huge thugs at once. Eddie was sliding what looked like a compact tube out of one sleeve. The tube slid open and stretched out like a telescope, revealing a long slender cane with a sharp-looking question mark at the top. "He's got the Riddler with 'im." one of the thugs muttered.
"Don't matter. We'll take 'im, too." was the reply.
The two groups stared at each other for a moment.
And then Jonathan made his move.
Leaping forward, the Master of Fear feigned to the left, making the front-most thug charge in that direction. Jumping to the right at the last possible second, Jonathan grabbed the off-balanced thug by the shoulders and flipped him over. Smiling grimly, the Scarecrow felt his strength returning with the rush of adrenaline. He could see the Riddler out of the corner of his eye, slashing left and right with his cane, almost dancing as he hacked the larger men away. Jonathan, in a sense, was doing the same thing, "violently dancing" as he leaped this way and that, punching and ducking, weaving his supple body back and forth, trying to confuse the huge men.
For a moment, it looked like they were gaining the advantage.
And then the goons recovered from the surprise attack.
The Scarecrow was still kicking and punching when two thugs grabbed him from behind, catching him completely off guard. Struggling, he tried to kick back at them, but they were too strong.
Twisting his head, the Master of Fear tried to call to Eddie, tell him to leave and get as far away as possible so he wouldn't get killed. But no sooner had he opened his mouth than a meaty fist came hard up against the side of his head, silencing him.
The Riddler turned, just in time to see the Master of Fear slump to the ground. His eyes widened.
And then he saw the bigger problem.
Stepping over the unconscious Scarecrow, the thugs began to advance on the Prince of Puzzles.
A/N: Yes, it's short. And I'm sorry. But I had to have this transition chapter in there. More soon!
As always, thanks so much for the reviews! I never thought I would get so many!
Disc: Don't own Jonathan or Eddie