All characters except Becca belong to DC Comics.
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Jonathan woke up before Becca and decided to get some work done, so he quietly got up and went down to the basement to begin concocting a new toxin. He was right in the middle of pouring an orange liquid over green powder. The powder dissolved and all that remained was a dark orange liquid.
Jonathan poured the liquid into another beaker with purple liquid and suddenly wished he hadn't. The liquids both evaporated into gasses and the beaker grew hot in Jonathan's hands. He dropped the beaker and it exploded the moment he let go. Jonathan winced as a piece of glass sunk into his arm. He gritted his teeth and pulled it out.
Because he wanted to get a better look at his wound, Jonathan took off his mask without a second thought, but that exposed him to the gasses in the room. Big mistake.
Jonathan's breathing hitched as he broke out in a cold sweat. In front of him was an old woman that loomed over him. Her flesh was falling off and she was missing an eye.
Jonathan gasped. "Y-you!"
She raised an old bony finger without flesh and pointed it at Jonathan. He clamped his eyes shut and stumbled back. "You can't be alive," he hissed. "I killed you. I killed you!" he screamed.
The old crone opened her toothless disease filled mouth and her cheeks split into sections as she let out a low moan. Jonathan cracked open an eyelid and wished he hadn't.
All around the old woman there were crows, thousands of them. The sat on her shoulders and on her hair, on the ground and on his desk and chair.
"Jonathan," the old hag moaned.
"No! You're not real! You're dead!"
An eerie laugh filled the air and the crows took flight all at once, coming straight at him.
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Becca yawned and rubbed her eyes as she sat up and stretched. She looked over to Jonathan's side of the bed to find out he wasn't there. "Huh, he must be downstairs," she murmured sleepily. She crawled out of bed, got dresses and headed downstairs for a cup of coffee.
Becca walked into the kitchen to find Jervis sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea. "Morning, Jervis."
"Good morning my dear, how did you sleep?"
"Fine thanks." Becca poured herself a cup of coffee silently thanking Jonathan for making some earlier that morning. She raised her mug to take a sip but a scream shattered the silence and both she and Jervis jumped, causing Jervis to slosh tea all over the table and Becca to accidentally drop her mug.
"What the fuck was that?!" said Becca.
"A scream, I believe."
"Ha ha, very funny
smart ass. Come on, it came from downstairs."
"Rebecca, a
scream down there means "don't go down there." Jonathan's
probably conducting another experiment."
Becca shook her head. The basement's been empty since we were locked up; that was Jonathan."
They hurried to the basement stairs and Becca took the steps two at a time. "Jonathan, are you okay?"
He wasn't anywhere in sight and Becca looked confused. "Where are you?" she called. That's when she heard it. It was faint, but there was no mistaking it; someone was crying. Becca followed the muffled sobs across the room and looked under an old table.
Jonathan was curled into a ball with his face buried in his arms. His whole body was shaking.
Becca knelt down and put a hand on his back. "Jonathan, are you okay?" He flinched at the contact and curled more into himself. "C'mon, knock it off Jonathan this isn't funny; you're scaring me," Becca murmured.
Becca finally got Jonathan to get up and he was still shaking violently. Becca stayed with him until he stopped shaking and was strong enough to walk up the stairs. When he was on the couch Becca sat beside him and wrapped her arms around him. "Shhh, it's okay; you're safe now. You gonna be okay?" He nodded. She sighed. "Good, now tell me what the hell you were doing! You scared the shit out of me!"
Jonathan swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. "N-nothing happened, just a chemical spill."
Were you making a new toxin?" Becca asked. He nodded. "Did you get a whiff of your own gas?" She teased.
"Pretty much; I cut myself and took the mask of to look at the cut."
"Well that was kind of stupid; answer me this; what could the Master of Fear be so terrified of that it'd make him scream like that?'
Jonathan's mouth went dry as he tried to answer her. Finally he managed to say something.
"My grandmother."
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A/N: One of the reasons I adore the Scarecrow is because he had a horrible childhood and he needs love. His dad left, his mom didn't love him and his Grandma would abuse him. On top of that he got wailed on every day at school. Holy shit. He has the saddest origin story EVER.
