The Scarecrow walked over to one of the wretches lying on the sidewalk, a woman with makeup running down her face as she screamed and clawed at horrors only she could see. His two feathered companions flew from his shoulders and landed next to her, their pitch-black eyes pulsating with power as they stared at the prey. Scarecrow knelt down by her side, taking her face in his hands, the woman immediatly stiffening in her throes of terror as she began gasping for air.
"Oh, but how I envy you, my dearest. The things you get to see, the pure, undilluted nightmare you find yourself in, it is something so few mortals have ever experienced. Though, I suppose from your perspective this experience might seem somewhat unfortunate, yes?"
The woman didn't answer, just gaping silently as more of his masters powers flowed through her mind.
"Ah, of course, for a lowly mortal to recieve the sacrament of Lord Nightmare, it is rather overwhelming, yes? But, I'd like to think that in whatever shattered, lucid moments you may have, you might still grasp what a privilege has been bestowed upon you and the rest of this miserable brood. To think, you meaningless mortals, pawns in my masters great design, far beyond anything you could have ever accomplished in your own pointless little lives!"
He placed a gentle kiss on the womans forehead, before placing her back down on the ground, leaving her to her own personal hell once again.
Then, from behind him...
"Wow, you are one CREEPY fucker, aren't you?"
.....
It's almost comical the way the Scarecrow tries to get back up to his feet from whatever the hell he was doing to that poor woman on the sidewalk, his skinny arms flailing like a cartoon character as he spins around to face us. Next to the woman, two crows take flight, startled from the sudden interuption.
"Who DARES?!"
I gesture between myself and Thor "Uh, we. We dare. Hi there, Mr. Sunshine and Thor, of the Avengers. And I'm guessing by that bargain bin costume you're wearing, you'd have to be The Scarecrow. Is there a farmer somewhere wondering who the hell stole his scarecrows clothes?"
It's only then I notice the weird medallion hanging around the Scarecrows neck.
It looks almost like a small round mirror, except instead of glass, it seems to be made from polished metal, maybe silver? However, what really draws my attention is the fact that the mirror is GLOWING, with far too much light to just be a reflection of the streetlights around us.
Thor confirms my thoughts before I can even voice them "This villain reeks of forbidden magic, Sunshine."
"Yeah, that glowy thing around his neck is kind of a dead giveaway. Any idea WHAT kind of magic we're dealing with here, big guy? I wouldn't know real magic from a card trick."
"Nay, I fear not, magic was the domain of my mother and brother, not I. However, I have fought many magical foes over the eons, and I've found that few of them may stand up to a proper blow from Mjolnir!" Thor smacks the head of his hammer against the palm of his hand as an emphasis.
"Sweet, brute force over brains, I can dig it!"
"Bah, I suppose I should have expected one of New Yorks annoying heroic types would stick their noses where they don't belong" The Scarecrow snarls, grasping the medallion and holding it up in one hand "No matter, you are not dealing with some two-bit purse snatcher tonight, heroes! You are facing your very fears themselves!"
And as the medallion begins to glow even brighter with an eerie, pale light, that's when things start to get...strange.
The closest comparison I can think of is the fear gas scenes from Batman Beyond, the streets around me seem to become hazy, and at the edge of my vision, I can see the crows on the rooftops above me, except where their eyes had once been black and beady, they now glow with the same light as the medallion. And they all seem to be staring at me.
I hear the Scarecrow speak, his voice muted and distant "Master, the other one! He's not affected!"
And Something answers him.
"Curses, the Asgardian! Your link to me isn't strong enough to overcome his natural defences! Nevermind, you have widened the gap between our worlds enough to allow me to lend assistance! Break the mutant, I will handle the God!"
"Uh, Thor, I think some bad shit is about to-"
There's a sudden flash of energy, followed by a horrendous screech that almost knocks me off my feet, and Something begins to crawl out of the glowing medallion. Something BIG. Hell, crawling isn't even the right word, it's like it's LEAKING out somehow, a mix of mist and light, that slowly takes shape, first forming a gaunt, elongated skull, then a thin torso, then long, twisted arms, clawed hands, and finally, long, spindly legs.
And then the Thing stands up.
I hear Thor whisper "By Asgard..."
The Thing moves with a speed something that size has no business possessing, and Thor vanishes into the haze, carrying the sound of struggle with him, leaving me alone. Me, and the Scarecrow, and the thousands of staring eyes all around us.
I hear laughter somewhere in front of me.
I rub at my eyes, trying to clear away the fog, trying to ignore the feeling clamping down around my mind. It's hard to describe, it doesn't feel like fear, not exactly, atleast not like any fear I've experienced before. It doesn't feel like the fear of anything tangible, because even with whatever is happening to me, my mind knows on some level that it's not real. But it's still there, creeping through my body, making my breath shorten. I want to run, to draw on my light and just flee, but those damned eyes all around me, it's like I can't THINK...
A black blur darts in front of my face, shattering any focus I'd managed to gather. Around me, I hear the crows begin to call, their cries blending in with the laughter as the birds leave their perches and begin circling around me, their glowing eyes still trained on me. Something sharp cuts across the side of my neck, and I feel the collar of my shirt growing wet with my own blood.
"AH! FUCK!"
A pair of talons dig into my shoulder, and I lash out, my hand colliding with a feathered body that shrieks in outrage as it's slapped away. It's no use, it's quickly replaced by another, and then another, and another, sharp claws and beaks cutting me, drawing blood, trying to get at my eyes. I cover my face with my arm as I kneel down on the ground in a desperate bid to protect myself, but this just gives the accursed things a chance to attack the back of my head, and my unguarded neck.
All the while, I hear the Scarecrow laughing
"Thought you were so damn brave, didn't you?! Thought fear didn't apply to you! No one to save the day this time, mutant! No waking up from this nightmare! My beloved pets will tear the flesh from your misshapen bones!"
I can only babble unintelligibly, the pain and the haze around me making it hard to even try to respond. The birds assault is unrelenting, as I feel one of them dig it's beak into my ear.
"That's enough..." I manage to gasp, trying to block out the pain "Enough...
I feel a sharp pain in my side, as a boot connects to my ribs.
And then, it's like something snaps in my mind.
"I SAID, ENOOOUGH!!!"
The flood gates burst open, the haze ruining my focus evaporating in an instant, as I feel my body fill with energy, my light rushing through my nerves and out through my skin in one massive torrent of sunlight, even my eyes lighting up as I press as much power as I can into a single burst. All around me, I can hear the screams of the crows as they're incinerated right on the spot, the smell of burning flesh and feathers heavy in the air, and along with them, so goes the magic they had been channeling.
The terror that had been creeping through me is gone, just like that.
"No! NO!! MASTER, HELP!!"
I open my eyes, struggling back to my feet. My vision swims for a moment, before reality fades back into view. Just a few feet ahead, the Scarecrow is scrabbling across the asphalt over the charred remains of his avian minions, his costume hanging in burned and torn shreds around his body, and even from here, I can see the burns on his skin from my blind lashing out.
Just out of reach from his schorched fingers is the medallion, the rope that had been tied to it incinerated.
Before he can so much as touch it, I snatch it away from him, and as he turns to look at me, I slam it across his face, the already cracked and damaged metal shattering completely as it connects with his skull. He rolls over, his face bleeding, as I toss the shards over his unconscious body.
"Happy Halloween, asshole..."
.....
I find Thor just a few streets away, his cape in shreds, but he appears to be otherwise unharmed. His eyes widen as he sees me limp towards him, carrying the senseless Scarecrow over my shoulder.
I have no idea which one of looks worse
"My friend! You are injured!"
"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks." I say, spitting out a little blood "It's just... several flesh wounds, but I don't think they're too deep. On a related note, I'm pretty sure tonight has been the worst night of my entire life... What happened to you?"
"The beast that set upon me... I've never seen it's like before. I believe it may have been some sort of magical construct. It simply disappeared in the middle of our battle."
"Probably when I broke creepshows medallion, I think it was the reason he could do any of this crap. There was... something talking to him through it."
Thor nods "Aye, I fear we have simply faced a pawn rather than our true foe this night. We best turn this wretch over to the proper authorities!"
"Good thinking, then I think I'm going to need to lay down for a while. And probably get someone to stitch up these wounds those fucking hellbirds gave me. How much does Donald Blake charge?"586