The creature moved closer Slowly the beast stepped out from the shadows Jonathan’s heart pounded louder Standing in front of him was a giant bat It was like nothing he had ever seen before Jonathan looked down at his clothing Suddenly he was wearing his Scarecrow costume But why wasn’t it working When Jonathan was dressed like that he was supposed to cause fear He wasn’t supposed to feel it himself The monster towered over the Scarecrow The beast looked down and lowered its head toward him The Scarecrow felt the air around him shift as the monster took in his scent ROOOOOAAAAARRR The creature let out a terrifying bellow The Scarecrow cowered in front of it He lowered himself to the ground and curled up into a little ball It was what he had done when the crows had first attacked him all those years ago Perhaps the position would save him now A full minute passed Then Jonathan Crane opened his eyes Maybe the horrible monster had gone away
Jonathan stared upward The monster hadn’t moved And now its mouth was open Wide open It was ready to feast The creature inched closer Jonathan screamed in terror AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH And then Jonathan Crane woke up His nightmares were getting worse This one had been particularly vivid Jonathan stood up and shook his head His heart was still beating rapidly He was covered in sweat Jonathan walked toward the small window that was situated in the corner of his equally small hotel room He pushed the window open and felt the cool fall air of Gotham City rush in and brush against his face Jonathan knew what these dreams meant of course Before he had begun his career as the criminal known as the Scarecrow Jonathan Crane had been a professor of psychology He understood the way the human mind worked He knew it was the Dark Knight who truly haunted his dreams As a boy Jonathan had been terrified of crows It was a childhood trauma that stayed with him even into his adult life But now his dreams always came back to bats one giant bat in particular It hardly seemed fair After all it was because of Batman that Jonathan had any problems at all Batman had stood in the way of his fear experiments Just like the college board that fired him Batman wouldn’t allow Crane’s experiments Batman called his tests twisted and sick He stood in the way of Jonathan mastering the art of fear It was Batman’s fault that the Scarecrow had been caged at Arkham Asylum Sure Jonathan had broken a few laws But it was all in the name of science It should be Batman whose dreams were haunted Crane thought Not my own Jonathan had been paroled from Arkham now He was a free man So why did he feel like he was still in a jail cell Batman should be the one trapped in a prison of his own thoughts Jonathan’s mind reeled He paced around his tiny hotel room How could he frighten
Batman All his past attempts had failed miserably His mind thought back again to his own childhood fear The crow It was a terrifying creature If only Batman was frightened of something similar from his own past If only the Scarecrow could go back in time and scare Batman as a boy A childhood trauma like that would surely stick with him It would be the Scarecrow’s face that Batman would see when he closed his eyes at night It would be the Scarecrow’s face that would make Batman go mad A smile slowly crept onto Jonathan’s lips Batman wasn’t a boy now that much was true But his young partner was Robin the Boy Wonder This fact was even part of his name He was still just a boy While it was too late to create a lifelong phobia in Batman’s mind Robin was the perfect age He would wait until the time was right Then the Scarecrow would terrify the Boy Wonder He would haunt Robin’s nightmares And as a result he would haunt Batman’s dreams as well Jonathan Crane knew fear He knew that by hurting Robin Batman would be plagued with guilt He would blame himself for the Boy Wonder’s suffering He would find reasons to feel responsible After all the Dark Knight had trained the young hero He had given Robin the tools and the knowledge to be a crime fighter He had put him in harm’s way Jonathan didn’t agree with that logic though Batman would not be to blame for the Boy Wonder’s misfortune But if there’s one thing Crane understood it was the mind And fear had the potential to make men lose perspective All men Even Batman Jonathan Crane looked over at his Scarecrow costume that hung limply on a nearby chair He smiled The plan was too perfect really The Scarecrow would destroy both Batman and Robin in a single stroke He would destroy two birds with one stone
