#scarecrow reader

Scarecrow! Reader whose childhood is full of abuse, bullying and trauma. A drunk father beating him for the slightest inconvenience, a mother who doesn't care at all about him and finally, a school life devoid of friendship, only mockery.

Can it get worse ? It does, Scarecrow! Reader who tries to help those around him, even at a young age, with psychology. This passion and drive for helping the mental health of others gives him a reputation of a weirdo who likes to ask strange question and poking people's mind.

Growing up into his teenage years wasn't any better, any romance he had ended badly, mostly to make a fool of him and ridicule him. Scarecrow! Reader hold strong but this is starting to take a toll on him.

Why are people such assholes ? Is it too hard for them to show him some respect and compassion ?

He truly shines during university though, his talents at chemistry and psychology are noticed during mock sessions with other students or teachers. His troubled past allows him to connect with his patients while his charisma and deep understanding of the human psyche grants him a better access to the trauma of others.

This attract the gaze of one man, Bruce Wayne himself who sees great potential in Scarecrow! Reader, such a psychologist and chemist could be a huge help to reform criminals. The two meets and Bruce offers him money and whatever means necessary to further his education.

The two become friends quickly despite the age difference, as if Bruce is the father and reader a son. If anyone asked him ? Bruce really wanted to adopt you into the family.

Anyway, Scarecrow! Reader graduates with honors and become a psychiatrist at Arkham asylum, why there ? Well reader wants to help people so why not going to the place with those Gotham deems broken.

As luck would have it no one likes him there, apart from some villains for some reason. Harvey Dent makes some genuine progress, Poison Ivy is less "let's kill all of mankind for the plants" even giving him a few winks here and there while Harley is somewhat more stable. Even Bane is inviting reader to do some workout with him.

Scarecrow! Reader decides to go a step further and develop a chemical supposed to appease patients during therapy, the smell is pleasant, the gas invisible and at first it works like a charm.

Patients like Harley are very calm and even refers to it as "cotton candy" while Harvey Dent is less two-facey during the sessions.

However this peace doesn't last, a jealous coworker messes with his formula and add another component inside it as a joke, convinced it will be a great prank.

Scarecrow! Reader is scheduled to have a session with Killer Croc and something goes horribly wrong. Croc appeared normal at first, answering questions and appearing genuine in his efforts until his pupils dilated, blown wide as he started acting nervously.

Before scarecrow! reader could ask what's wrong Croc broke free of his restraints and tore into reader, screaming about something only he can see.

Security is a second too late to intervene and Scarecrow! reader is badly mauled, his legs damaged, his face partially torn off, his right eye completely blind and excessive blood loss are the first injuries to be seen on him.

A lot of recovery later and Bruce is the only one to visit his friend, devastated by the accident and most of all, his friend's rage. He's unable to calm down reader.

Why ? Scarecrow! Reader knows someone sabotaged his work, he used the same formula on Croc before and it never happened, someone tampered with his product and he wanted revenge !

Weeks and weeks of difficult recovery and the diagnosis is horrible, he will never see out of his right eye ever again. His lungs were partially crushed by his ribs because of Croc's strength, one of his leg had to be outfitted with a prosthesis to help him walk properly as it suffered a similar fate to his lungs.

The worst ? His face, it's a patchwork of mangled skin, reattached teeth and exposed muscle. He cries and screams but most of all ? He's preparing his revenge as even his job was taken from him, fired because he was "unsightly" and "no longer pleasant to look at"

a simple plan really, reader analyzed the formula used that fateful day and adapted it in secret to be even stronger, no longer a chemical to appease but to agitate, to cause fear.

A fear toxin...

All Reader had to do was disperse it in the vents of Arkham so that everyone would breath it, making them just as fearful and miserable as him.

Batman stopped him, standing in front of him, trying to talk him out of it while reader isn't having it.

///

"I suffered every day of my life ! From my birth to this moment, why shouldn't they ! Why should they be living happily despite crippling me !?"

"Reader..." Batman says softly "I... What happened to you is a shame, a crime even but doing this is not the way, they want you to do thi-"

You looked at him, determination and coldness in your left eye "I don't care anymore, I tried helping them, I tried being friendly ! Better to be the monster than the broken angel"

You were about to drop the fear gas into the vents when batman used his grapple on it, dragging it toward him and depriving you of your revenge.

Then he lunged, a single kick to the stomach to make you drop to your knees and incapacitate you without too much harm. His armored boots on your chest forced you to stay down.

"WHY ? WHY CAN'T I HAVE SOMETHING FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE !? WHY SHOULD THEY BE THE ONES TO GET OFF SCOTT-FREE ?" you screamed and thrashed, agitated beyond belief at his action.

Behind his mask, Bruce's eyes betrayed a deep sadness, his friend mangled and damaged despite all the help he could afford to give him, was simply lost in his anger.

Without a word he left, the last thing you saw on his face being sadness and regret as he left you in the dark hall.

Angrily you threw and punched anything in your vicinity, too angry to think rationally.

"You will all pay ! All of you ! You will learn to fear me !" He understood something that day, fear was a weapon and if used right, a devastating one at that.

"yes..." you laughed maniacally upon seeing your reflection in a glass upon leaving the building "You will all pay."

///

This is where reader truly embraces his Scarecrow persona, the world rejected him so he rejects everyone.

His home appears abandoned, every mirror is covered and only one is full of paper, if one looks closely they ressemble a face but malformed. As if whoever made it couldn't remember what a normal face was supposed to look like.

Scarecrow! Reader is also more unstable in his new lair, making a home in the underground sewers of Gotham city, specifically an abandoned part rarely visited by maintenance crews.

Why is he more unstable ? The constant pain from his body, psychological damage and exposure to his own toxin leads to the official birth of his villain personna.

The Scarecrow, an avatar of fear.

Living in your new lair wasn't easy, your new "home" is a mattress in a corner alongside a decrepit desk you managed to fix. Life couldn't get any better, you're pretty sure you heard something big down here too.

You just hope it's not Killer Croc, it absolutely is him.

You never saw him but he keep you safe in his own way, he broke out shortly after mauling you and he felt really bad about it back then so he followed you as discreetly as he could. Safe to say nothing approaches your lair without passing by him first.

The physical pain subsided after a while, becoming a dull ache rather than the full on debilitating back breaking pain you suffered whenever moving, the emotional one however ? It didn't...

No... Far from it ! Gotham and it's inhabitants would pay, Batman most of all for depriving you of your revenge and letting your coworker get off Scott-free.

This gave you time to sit down and think, your first step was to look like fear itself so you did the reasonable think and stitched a torn gas mask to your face, tearing the flesh apart if necessary. Next came an old coat you stole on the surface during the rare times you got out, still too injured to venture far.

You became skinnier, more slow and soft-spoken with an added edge to your voice, making it ear gratting if needed. You also delved deeper into psychology than before, every word you uttered needed to be carefully chosen, to have the perfect weight and intonation for the moment.

Your outfit completed, you built yourself weapons, a glove outfitted with syringe, belts with your fear toxins and a gun if needed.

Speaking of the fear toxin you took week to refine it with what you had, for now it was mostly in the form of a syringe or a small grenade, the gas also didn't linger for long but hopefully enough to fully incapacitate someone if it came down to it.

You just needed a few more ingredients to reach the next stage of the fear toxin so making your way to the Gotham greenhouses to steal the plants you needed you made an unexpected encounter.

///

"Just one more" you thought, one more plant and you could leave, this place felt eerie and you just wanted to leave.

You reached for the plant when vines coiled around your ankles and suddenly pulled to the ceilling and left you hanging upside down until you heard a familiar voice.

"Well, well, well~ My vines caught another little fly." her melodious voice stated, god you missed hearing her voice, you needed some familiarity in your life right now.

You turned the best you could and adressed her "Hello Pamela, i wish we could've met in better circumstances."

Her smile disappeared and instead she walked worriedly toward you, turning your body so she could get a better look at you.

"Ho my- Y/n ? Doctor Y/n ? Croc told us about the incident but... my god what happened to you ?" she let the vines go and cupped your face with her hands, you slightly flinched from the gesture but didn't fight it.

"A sabotage, i have an idea as to who did it. They modified my formula to send Croc into a rage instead of calming him down. Unfortunately i was in the room and suffered the consequences."

Ivy listened to your tale of misery, she crouched down and pulled you into a tight hug.

"Poor Y/n... Why did it have to be you hmmm ? You always took such great care of the inmates, truly you don't deserve this."

You leaned into the hug, sighing softly, a far cry from the fearsome vilain you wanted to be. "Thank you Ivy, it means a lot to me. I'm sorry for bothering you and your plants, i just needed a few plants for my formula."

This caught her attention "A formula ? Are you refining the product they used on Croc ?"

"Yes, Fear toxin. The plants around here produce a hallucinogenic pollen that if added and mixed correctly could result in greater hallucinations, not that you would be affected of course. I wouldn't want to harm you Miss Isley."

"Flattery Y/n ? i'd blush but take your plants before Batman learns of your presence, i'd hate for him to know you are preparing something."

You gave her your thanks and left quickly with the desired plants, it took a few days but the next step of the plan (and the formula) were done. Now came the sweet part, revenge !

You definitely didn't blush when Ivy blew you a kiss, totally not !

///

Finding your coworker was easy, even easier to bind him and bring him to a remote location in Gotham, now standing over him felt great, a feeling of power you hadn't felt in... forever.

"Who-who's there ?! What do you want ! sh-show yourself !" he trembled, you were savoring his fear.

You removed his mask and he nearly pissed himself from fear, you didn't even have to talk yet.

"Speak damnit ! Do something !" he screamed.

Slowly, you removed your hood, you stayed in the shadow to begin your speech, you could pratically taste his fear from where you stood.

"You hide under the shade of humor, don't you? Oh now, now, don't look away. Why are you so scared? Do you hate what you see, HATE what you did? Why shy away now from what you created?"

"...look at me...Look at me, LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! YOU HAVE TORN MY LIFE AWAY! I WAS ABLE TO HELP THOSE WHO NEEDED YET..." you managed to calm yourself.

"...yet you decided that it was too much, too much for your fragile ego that you had to tamper with the very scent I made, one I used to calm. To soothe those who silently cried for someone to listen, a blanket of warmth they could feel safe in. Yet now, now look what you had created...The shadow that children fear at night, the very nightmare that keeps you awake, you try to hide in the light of day to try and hide underneath your blanket at night yet your forget, the shadows that hide with you..."

you stopped for a brief second before coming out of the darkness and approaching his face with a closeness that bordered on the uncomfortable

"The very thing you are scared of because... I am your fear."

He began to hyperventilate, he recognized you now ! "Lo- look man, it was, it's... it's all a big mist-"

Your slap silenced him, "You will pay for the damage i sustained and you will suffer as i have while you pray for someone to pull you out of the misery you willingly dove into."

He couldn't say anything before you sprayed him with your fear toxin, he coughed and thrashed in his restraints as he began to fight something only he could see.

"GET THEM OFF ME ! SO MANY LEGS AND EYES, ANYONE ! HELP ME !"

"Arachnophobia, common and disappointing, just like you used to be. Happy nightmare. "You took some notes and left quietly, unaware of Batman watching the entire event unfold.

He could have prevented this, put this man in jail and comforted you and yet... another mistake of his but for once ? He didn't want to save the man, he wanted to save YOU.

"Alfred, our friend became an enemy because of me, the Manor will be his new home when possible, in the meantime he needs as much help as possible."