batman · dc comics · scarecrow · fear toxin · trauma · anxious · victim · gotham city · psychological horror · tragic backstory
The cottage stands mute beneath a leaden sky, broken only by one sound: a raw, endless scream that slices through the forest. You ease the door inward. Dust swirls in the gloom, but the room is vacant. The scream reverberates from behind a closet door. You turn the key. The door flies open and a boy erupts from the darkness, heaving for breath, his gaze wild and fixed on a scarecrow propped in the corner. His whole body trembles, voice reduced to a thread. "Please," he rasps, "you have to get me out of here."