Chapter 5 Fear of Death and Fire

Unknown Location in Gotham 1:00 pm EST

Zatanna was strapped down to bed inside a bright white room. The masked man from earlier knelt down beside her, injecting her with a needle. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she heard him say, "Now little girl. What do you fear?"

Zatanna was in a large black space. No walls and no floor as far as the eye could see. Zatanna was standing under a spotlight, looking confused.

"Hello?" She called out, sounding afraid. She turned around as she heard something walking towards her. Robin stepped forward, holding the Helmet of Fate. He sat it on the "ground", as he pulled up a video on his wrist gauntlet computer. The video suddenly turned into an all out simulation of Doctor Fate battling a Lord of Chaos whom Zee couldn't recognize. This was, in theory, a simulation, but to Zatanna, it was all too real. A missed attack from Doctor Fate was turned back at him by the unknown villain. Zee watched in horror, as Doctor Fate- her father- was blasted away, falling lifeless to the ground. Robin ended the video recording, and picked up the helmet. As he put it on, his uniform changed into that of Fate's.

"Robin NO!" Zatanna shouted. Too late. The earlier events from earlier repeated itself, but, instead of her father, it was Robin. Her last source of comfort. The Lord of Chaos turned around, revealing himself to be Scarecrow. He laughed, no cackled, as Zee gasped and woke up. She was at the Cave now. She scratched her head and got up off of her bed. She walked through the hallways to the kitchen. The sight was normal at least. Artemis and Wally arguing for probably the third time already, Sam and Kaldur drowning them out with reading, Robin cackling away as Conner tries to catch him for putting monkey stickers in his room(that's my sense of humor :P). M'gann burning her cookies again, Wally gobbling away, leading to another argument with Artemis. Zee smiled and sat down at the counter, were aforementioned couple was also sitting. Soon, Black Canary entered the kitchen with an unknown person in a hood.

"Guys," She said. "This is Jonathan. He's your new teammate." Zatanna went wide-eyed.

Crane.

M'gann's nightmare was, different. She was baking, with Conner watching static in the background. Same old, same old. Red Tornado had come to check on them, and after reacting to the "odd" situation, he walked away like normal. M'gann knew something wasn't right. Not a creature was stirring, other than the previously mentioned three. Robin wasn't up yet, neither was Wally, Kaldur, Artemis, Sam, or Zatanna. As if on cue, the Team drowsily made their way into the kitchen. Even that wasn't right. M'gann figured she was scared of boredom. Wait, what? She started to feel hot, sweating profusely, as her teammates disappeared into flames. M'gann's eyes widened as none other than the Scarecrow walked forward, a gas can in one hand, a lighter in the other. He poured the contents of the can onto the floor, backing up as he lit up the lighter, and threw it into the gasoline, causing an explosion. M'gann was screaming intensely, for the flames were so, real. As the Martian burned up, she heard the maniacal laughter of one Doctor Crane.

Providence, Rhode Island 1:30 pm EST

Robin was outside McDonalds, waiting for the Team to hurry up and finish eating. His eyes were squinted in determination. He eyed his birdirang, thinking about where the girls could be. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud burp. Robin bent his head and sighed, getting up from his kneeling position.

"That hit the spot." Kid Flash said.

"Next time, we pick my restaurant." Artemis demanded.

"Oh pipe down Miss 'Olive Garden'." Kid shot back.

"At least Robin would eat there!" She justified.

"Not another argument." Portal lifted his head and sighed.

"How do you know?" Kid Flash defied. Everyone lowered their heads.

"Because it's classy."

"So is McD-ugh!" Kid Mouth was cut off by a fist to the gut.

"Thank you Conner." Kaldur said. "Now where do we go from here?"

Robin resumed eyeing his birdirang. Then it hit him. "Gotham."

Zatanna's Psyche unknown time and time zone

"That's the Scarecrow!" Zatanna shouted.

"And I'm Abe Lincoln." Wally spat back. Zatanna slapped him as hard as she could, which may have landed "him" in a coma. Zee spun back around, fire in her glare.

Scarecrow became more recognizable as he said, "What are you gonna do with no powers?"

A small "shoot!" escaped Zatanna's lips.

"Always one step ahead." Scarecrow cackled.

Zee grabbed "Robin's" utility belt, and tossed several explosive birdirangs at the mad man. Scarecrow laughed as Zee's hits were ineffective. Zee then saw the helmet. She put it on quickly.

"Silly girl, the good doctor has failed. Twice. You don't stand a chance!"

"They say three times' the charm." Zatanna taunted. Scarecrow cackled once more as the fight began. As Zatanna sent two blasts from her hands, Scarecrow vanished. Zee spun around, only to be hit by a now massively huge Scarecrow.

"Now little girl, prepare to face, what you fear most." As Scarecrow's hand neared her, everything went white.

M'gann's Psyche unknown time and time zone

M'gann felt everything going white, as her cries got louder and louder. Waking up for real this time, the Martian girl began sweating profusely, scared to death. She was relieved to be in the real world. In the bed next to hers, she heard Zatanna crying and screaming, throwing what in normal situations would be a "hissy fit". But this was different. M'gann felt sorry, knowing she couldn't help her friend.

Gotham City 2:30 pm EST

Dashing out of the BioShip, Robin headed for WayneTech Industries. Kid Flash and the rest followed suit, with Kaldur staying at the BioShip. Bursting into Bruce Wayne's Two Thirty, Robin shouted, "Bruce a moment!" and ran back out. Bruce glared at the door the Boy Wonder of Gotham just ran through. He looked back at his client and politely said, "Excuse me, I need to take this."

Going into the hallway, Bruce confronted Robin.

"What is wrong with you!?" Bruce was barely keeping his anger back.

"Where is Scarecrow?" Robin asked, ignoring Bruce's question.

"What!? Do you not see that I am at work!?" Bruce couldn't believe this.

"Stow away Bruce Wayne," Robin lowered his voice. "And get me Batman."

Bruce looked around before answering Robin. "Crane hasn't been seen in weeks. Why?"

"I have a strong feeling Haverage is working for him, and getting the charges he should be getting. Mental and emotional torture is what Scarecrow specializes in. I'm going to start searching Gotham with the Team. We will stop this Haverage, and whoever he's working for."

"And I'll investigate Ra's Al Ghul. If his League of Shadows is helping Haverage in any way, we'll need to find out. This may trace back to the Light."

"Agreed." Robin ran of saying at normal volume, "Have a nice day Mister Wayne."

"You too Boy Wonder!" Bruce smiled and walked back into the room. "Now where were we?"

A/N: Plot Twist! Scarecrow is behind it all. I know, I shocked myself. Honest! Anyway, Haverage's charges include, but are not limited to: Kidnapping, Mental and Emotional torture(which may or may not be true), and Violence. So um, you've seen the two kidnapees' fears. Had to be creative with Zatanna, she was the least obvious fear wise(or was she most obvious? Hmm.) Until next time though, Read and Review, True Believers!