Hey, guys. I'm so glad I am a senior this year. I get to get out early. Lucky me. And lucky you, too, because this means that I'll be updating more frequently. I also want to thank you guys for all the reviews and views you've been giving me. It really means a lot to me that you love this story so much. So, without further ado, onwards with the story.
Night had started to fall as the Scarecrow's henchmen assembled in a quiet corridor of the warehouse. Their boss had briefed them of a heist meeting to plan for their next bounty. In front of them, on a big projector screen, were the blueprints for their latest crime. Several dots lead to the center, their goal, and a vault full of money from the First National Gotham bank.
The goons, who had been waiting patiently for their boss to arrive, were whispering to each other.
"Why do ya think the boss is taking so long?" Goon 1 asked the one sitting beside him.
"I dunno, man," Goon 2 replied, shrugging his shoulders. "The boss is usually on time for these things."
"Maybe it has something to do with the new chick that he brought in two weeks ago," Goon 3 said.
"You really think so, man?" Goon 1 questioned, looking around to make sure that Crane was nowhere to be found. If he caught them…. he really didn't want to even think about that.
"Yeah. Why else would he be late? The boss' never late," Goon 3 replied, a lecherous grin on his face. "I bet he's doing her right now."
"You really think so? I thought he wasn't into that sort of stuff. I mean, if he were, why wouldn't he do Poison Ivy? Heck, I would, if I were 'im." Goon 4 asked.
While they were conversing, the Scarecrow had decided to enter at that moment. He had overhead everything the goons had said and was seething with anger. How dare they! He wasn't "doing" Becky or anything like that. The very thought, although quite lovely, was something that he would never act upon himself and would try earnestly to banish from his mind. He was above such base primitive urges, and he knew that she felt the same.
He cleared his throat. The goons instantly hushed, with nary a whisper from them. "I do hope you are not talking about who I think you're talking about. Otherwise, I know a few new test subjects that are going to be a delightful edition to my collection of screams I've heard over the years."
The goons frantically shook their heads, their faces paling at the thought.
Crane grinned. "Good. And now that I have your attention, let's review the plan."
As the Scarecrow carefully explained the plan to his minions, Becky couldn't help but feel nervous and conflicted as she stood off to the side. On one hand, she was excited to be going out in her very first act as the partner of the Scarecrow. And it was for that very reason that she was scared out of her mind.
Should I really do this? She pondered, as she listened to his instructions to the goons. I mean, once I do this, I can't go back.
But then again, it could be a lot of fun, another side of her thought. Besides, who's going to make sure that Jon doesn't do anything drastic, like killing people?
She looked down. Well, I guess.
By this time, she had resumed listening to the rest of his speech.
"…And then we make off with the loot. Now, any questions?"
The goons shook their heads. They didn't need to hear it again.
The Scarecrow smirked. It was about time he got something through their thick skulls. "Well then, get ready. We'll be hitting the target in 2 hours. Dismissed."
The goons quickly fled; glad to get out of his lecture and away from his glaring gaze. They were probably not going to get out of this alive, but anything would be better than having the Grinch-like grin of the Scarecrow's face following them as they sat, like cornered rabbits, in the seats.
Crane just laughed. It felt good to scare them away like that. Nothing beat the sounds of screams.
But as he turned to Becky, he could think of one that did. "Have you got your supplies?"
She nodded, though the act was quite stiff and fast, like a frightened mouse. He noted that she seemed to be on edge about the situation.
"Nervous?" he asked, a small, sly smile lighting his lips.
"A…a little," she replied, looking away from him. She hated to reveal that she was nervous and afraid to him, for she feared he would take advantage of that fact and probably try to scare her more. He seemed to enjoy doing that to every other citizen of Gotham and even his own goons. The only ones he probably could never scare, besides her, was the Joker himself, and that's because he was too insane to fear the Scarecrow
But he surprised her by just chuckling. "You'll do fine. Besides, if you're lucky, you won't even have to use your fear gas."
"But don't you usually gas people on your raids?" she asked, confused. In all the reports she had read about the Scarecrow, he seemed to enjoy using his fear gas whenever possible on his heists. Now that he told her they might not scare anybody, a little bit of her fear was relieved.
"Usually, but not this time. Not many people go to the bank this late, so the only people we will have to worry about are the guards." Jonathan replied, pulling on his mask and hat. "Ready?"
She nodded, pulling on her mask as they navigated the dark, lamp lit streets of Gotham.
The Gotham National Bank was one of the many banks that Gotham seemed to develop like a rash around its borders. It was right on the line between the Amusement Mile and the Industrial District, which sometimes made it a prime target for many of the up-and-coming super villains and the Joker's new goons, who made the entire Industrial District his home.
As they had planned, the henchmen entered the building first, providing a distraction for the guards to chase as Scream and Scarecrow made their way towards the central vault of the bank.
The bank wasn't as grand as the one near some of the other districts, like the Bowery and Sheldon Park's one, but it did its job: gathering money and putting it into a vault just ripe for the picking by the many rogues who frequented the place.
Scream and Scarecrow navigated the winding halls, looking for the vault of money in the back of the building. Why it was in the back and not in the front like the other vaults, they didn't know, but it was probably to fake out the other criminals into attacking the fake vault in the front, which was quite smart, seeing as the bank was frequented by the rogues like flies to a dead carcass.
This was why Scarecrow had chosen this spot. It was not as difficult as robbing the other banks in the inner city, where there was more of a chance to get nabbed by the Bat, but still difficult enough to give his new partner a taste of what she would experience in the future. If she did well, he would possibly up the challenge, such as a more difficult place to rob with more security. It helped that she wasn't well known yet like he was, which allowed her to go in and out without being suspected.
They spotted some leftover guards guarding the real vault and immediately covered against the wall.
"What now, Scarecrow?" she whispered quietly, unsure of a clear way around the guards without the alarm going off. Her cane would give away her presence if she was going to sneak up on them, and she couldn't throw her cane to the side to distract them, as she needed it to keep her balance, otherwise she would fall over.
Putting a finger to his mouth, Scarecrow's voice barely in a whisper. "Watch," he hissed, as he carefully flicked a mini-fear bomb at them.
It exploded; causing the guards to fire off their guns as the smoke bomb mixed with the fear toxin caused them to lose their vision, although the bullets never hit anything but the empty wall. They started to hack and wheeze, before bolting for their lives from their imaginary demons.
As the gas cloud dissipated, the duo soon found themselves in front of the vault.
"Scream, the TNT, if you please."
She nodded, obediently handing him the explosives as he set the timer, both of them covering their ears and ducking as the explosion shot the vault door right into the back wall.
The two walked in, fully expecting a boatload of cash.
They got a boatload of cash, but they also found one particularly smug Joker along with it, sitting on a cash throne that he had made on top of the stack of money. He wore his usual purple, tail coated three-piece suit, with his usual drooping flower toxin sprayer and his green bowtie that seemed to match the color of his hair, his lipstick red lips constantly curled into a leering grin.
"What the-? Joker! What on earth are you doing here?" The Scarecrow squawked, flabbergasted as to how the clown got into the vault with no explosive entrance in the first place.
The Joker just manically giggled. "Oh, don't look so surprised, Scary. Anyone can just get in the vault if they want it badly enough. I just happened to use the front entrance," the clown laughed, tickled pink by the expressions of Scarecrow trying to grasp how he got in. Springing to his feet, he leaped off of his makeshift throne of money, startling Becky as she had been gathering money into her large purse.
"Oooh, and who's the new girl? Another one of your test subjects? Or did the good ol' Hatter do you a favor and brainwash her?" Joker laughed, pulling her so she was shoulder to shoulder with him, his arms locked around her chest.
Becky shivered. She couldn't believe she was this close to Gotham's most dangerous rogue. Almost no one was this close to pure, unadulterated evil than the clown was. Even Scarecrow, Gotham's most feared villain, didn't feel as sick and wrong as the Joker. Even his skin, buried beneath his multi-piece suit, radiated coldness and decay, felt like a cold, rotting corpse.
"Let her go, Joker! She's not yours to toy with," Jonathan hissed, his hand reaching for the toxin. She was his apprentice, his Mistress of Fear, and he wasn't going to let Joker's bloody, filthy hands taint her anymore. Who knew what the clown got into? Even Crane would rather not think about it.
"Aww, you're no fun, Scary. Always so grim and serious. Seriously, you have a need for a smile as much as Batsy does," the Joker giggled, as Becky began to struggle against his icy grip.
Becky felt herself beginning to panic. The two rogues were currently in a deadlock, and she didn't know who would be the first to act. It didn't help that Joker's hand started to drift towards her lower body.
"Last warning, clown!" Jonathan roared, his spray can level with the Joker's face, right at the tip of his pointy nose. He could see the clown trying to cope a feel, and he was livid with rage. No one touched his Becky! No one! Not the henchmen, not the clown, nobody!
The Joker cackled. "Really, Scary? Are you really going to try it with your girlfriend right there?"
With no second thoughts or "She's not my girlfriend" Jonathan sprayed the Joker in the face, emptying the whole flask in the Joker's face.
"Run!" The Scarecrow bellowed, pushing the Joker down as he picked Becky up bridal-style and raced as fast as he could from the rapidly recovering Joker, leaving her cane behind in the rush to escape.
Becky was stark still with shock. She was like a shell, her mouth still open in a silent scream.
Jonathan didn't have time to help her recover from shock. He had spotted a bomb just outside the bank and knew he had only a few seconds to navigate the halls towards the front door and freedom. His body was filled with adrenaline, propelling him and Becky through the hallways. He jumped over the bodies of his dead henchmen, but they didn't matter to him right now. They were expendable, and he could easily hire new ones from the streets. All that mattered was getting him and Becky through those double doors.
Jonathan dove towards the ground as an explosion rocketed him through the door and into a lamppost, causing him to drop Becky, who fell limply onto the concrete.
The Scarecrow shook his head, prying himself out of the dent he had made in the metal beam. He pulled off his mask, sweeping a hand across his brow. He pulled it back to find blood running through his fingers. His forehead was coated with blood, and he felt the objects in front of his vision swirl, before he collapsed onto the ground.
Becky, meanwhile, had recovered from her shock and had shaken herself awake from her stupor, and had crawled her way towards the Scarecrow's side.
Seeing the wounds on Jonathan's head, Becky immediately grabbed her purse, pulling out her phone as she quickly dialed a number.
"Alice? It's Becky. You need to get here right now! It's Jonathan! He's really hurt."
She was barely conscious as she saw what looked like headlights before collapsing on top of the Scarecrow's chest.