Bruce and Grace were waiting for the elevator at Gotham Estate University after attending the charity book signing. When Summer Gleeson and an older man she was talking to walked past them.
"Dr. Long; do you have any idea why someone would want to destroy the university?" Summer asked him.
"No, but one more disaster, and students would be afraid to set foot on this campus," He answered as they both get into the elevator. Bruce and Grace follow them in.
"Hello, Summer," Bruce and Grace greeted the reporter.
"Bruce! Grace! What a pleasant surprise. Dr. Long, have you met Bruce and Grace Wayne?" Summer asked.
Bruce extends his hand, but Dr. Long refuses. Dr. Long presses a button and the doors close.
"Your father and I attended university together. He had big plans for you two," Dr. Long spoke.
"Well, I guess he'd be pleased. Wayne Industries is more prosperous than ever," Bruce said, "Not to mention the Wayne Industries charities that have helped thousands thanks to my sister."
"Pleased? When your father was alive, Wayne was a name that commanded great respect. Now all Wayne stands for is a self-centered, jet-setting playboy and his sister who does nothing to stop him from acting like one. It's lucky your father didn't live to see what you've done to his good name. He'd have died of shame," Dr. Long told them before he leaves the elevator on his floor.
"Uh-wait, Dr. Long, I haven't finished the interview!" Summer chases after him.
"Don't worry, Bruce. He's probably venting his anger over what's happening to the university," Grace consoled him, "You did hear what he said to Summer about it."
Bruce presses the lobby button on the elevator and the doors closed before taking them down. The two then glance outside and see a helicopter going toward the University Bank.
"That can't be good," Grace said before she and Bruce left the elevator when it had reached the lobby. After finding a safe place to change, Batman and the Scarlet Witch rush over to the University Bank. On the rooftop of the building across from the bank and witnessed a small explosion, no doubt meant to blow off the vault door. The two heroes were now on the rooftop of the bank and jumped down the hole that had been created by the criminals to get in.
"Help! Boss! It's the Batman and Scarlet Witch!" The man cried as the two heroes approached him, "Help m-"
The man became silent after Scarlet Witch had caused him to fall to the ground asleep after she had spoken, "Somnus."
From inside the vault, small smoke bombs are thrown, but it was futile because Batman had a gas mask on and Scarlet Witch had a force field covering the outline of her body
"Welcome, Batman and Scarlet Witch!" A man dressed as a scarecrow greeted them as they stepped inside the vault, "-Oh...a gas mask and a force field...perhaps you are as resourceful as they say."
"Who are you?" Batman asked.
"I am fear incarnate. I am the terror of Gotham. I am the Scarecrow!" He introduced himself as he took out a flare from the duffle bag on the ground and lit it.
"Give it up. There's no way out," Scarlet Witch told him.
"Except through you two!"
A henchman drops on Batman, knocking off his gas mask, starting a fight while with the two heroes. Scarlet Witch pulls the henchman off of Batman. With their backs turned toward Scarecrow, the two heroes didn't see him take out a gun and shoot them in the necks each with a dart. The heroes pushed the henchman aside and turned their attention to Scarecrow. But the two heroes began to feel groggy as they approached the villain.
Batman grabbed Scarecrow and held him up against the vault wall, causing Scarecrow to drop the flare and it rolled onto the gasoline, sparking a fire in the vault and spreading. Batman and Scarlet Witch began to feel weaker, Batman loosened his grip on Scarecrow as the drug affected his body.
"Fight all you want, Batman and Scarlet Witch; but you must succumb to the fear!" Scarecrow pushes Batman away from him, causing a piece of his mask to be torn, "What hidden terror keeps the Batman and the enchanting Scarlet Witch awake at night?" He gasps at the fire spreading through the vault, "Come on you cretins, my work is done!"
Scarecrow and his goon run out of the vault and make their escape. Batman and Scarlet Witch struggle to stand from being weakened by the drug. Scarlet Witch tries to lift herself as she hears a familiar voice calling to her.
"Grace.... Grace..."
Scarlet Witch looked up and saw her parents, appearing from the flames in the vault.
"Mother... Father," Scarlet Witch gasped at the vision of her parents.
"You must be locked away, Grace," Her father spoke.
"Your too powerful, and that much power is dangerous," Her mother finished.
"No," Scarlet Witch said in a hushed tone before passing out.
Eventually, the fire sprinkler system turned on the dosed the flames, and snuffed them out, leaving only smoke. Scarlet Witch regained conciseness as Batman helped her up and out of the vault. The two heroes cough from the smoke as they hold themselves up against the frame of the vault. Three uniformed GCPD officers entered the bank and rushed over to the heroes.
"Batman? Scarlet Witch? What happened?" One officer asked.
"Scarecrow..." Batman responded.
"Scarecrow!? Whaddaya mean?" The second officer questioned.
"He's right..." The Security Guard coughs, appearing from behind the desk, "...it was some guy dressed like a scarecrow. He tried to torch the bank, but Batman and Scarlet Witch stopped him."
"Alright then, where is this Scarecrow?" Bullock asked, entering the bank.
"Well, he...got away!" The Security Guard replied as one of the officers helped him up.
"Oh, you mean the commissioner's pet bat and little witch here let him get away," Bullock rounded on the heroes, who are still feeling weak from the drug. Bullock points to the shred of the Scarecrow's mask in Batman's hand, "What do you got there, vigilante? Looks like police evidence! Give it up, now!" He pushes Batman and atman pushes him back, "Uuh, looks like I'm gonna have ta take it from ya."
Bullock opens his coat and reaches for his gun, while Batman and Scarlet Witch get in a fighting stance.
"Bullock! What the blazes is going on here?" Gordon demanded as he and Alder run over to him.
"Blaze is right, Commissioner. It's attempted arson. Zorro and Elvira here are withholding evide-" Bullock turns around and sees that Batman and Scarlet Witch are gone, "Where the..."
"You were saying?" Alder asked.
"Ahh... Never mind!" Bullock said as he throws his hat to the ground.
After returning to the Batcave, Bruce and Grace emerised themselves in their work involving Gotham's latest villain the Scarecrow. They were currently analyzing the shred of Scarecrow's mask Batman had gotten. The two had not slept and their exhaustion showed. Bruce picked up the framed photo of his and Grace's parents and looked at it. Grace glanced at the picture and she heard her parents' voices again.
"You are too dangerous, Grace," Her mother said.
"You should be locked up at Arkham," Her father told her.
Bruce placed the photo back down and had the picture facing down. The two turned their attention to Summer's new report on the T.V.
"This is Summer Gleeson, back live at the Gotham Estate University. The campus' bank was the target of a robbery and a malicious arson attempt by the so-called Scarecrow. Though the Batman and Scarlet Witch did thwart the arson, they failed to catch the perpetrators," Grace begins to hallucinate as she hears Summer say, "Perhaps the Scarlet Witch was part of the robbery and needs to be sent to Arkham, like all the other dangerous criminals in Gotham!"
Alfred turns off the T.V., "Imagine that, sir, ma'am."
"Huh? What?" Bruce and Grace said as they were pulled out of their hallucinations.
"Someone dressed up in a frightening costume running around scaring people. What will they think of next?" Alfred asked as he picked up Batman's cape and cowl before placing them in the display case.
"The question is, why would Scarecrow want to destroy the University?" Bruce wondered.
"Perhaps he flunked Phis. Ed," Alfred joked as he walked back over to the two and then took notice of their state, "Are you alright, sir? Ma'am?"
"The Scarecrow drugged us with some kind of fear toxin. We never know when it's going to hit us. I'm having horrible visions, of my father. He says I'm shaming the family name," Bruce replied.
"And I've been having visions of mother and father. They say that I'm dangerous and deserve to be locked up in Arkham like every criminal in Gotham," Grace replied.
"That's rubbish! I know your father would be proud of you, because, I'm so proud of you, Sir. And I know that your parents would never say such things about you, Ma'am, because they loved you with all their hearts and would have accepted you for who you are just as I do. Now come on, it's time for chicken soup and a good night's sleep," Alfred helps the two up from their seats and begins walking them out of the Batcave.
"Alfred?" Bruce and Grace said, stopping in their tracks.
"Yes?" Alfred asked.
"Thanks," Bruce said.
"For everything," Grace added.
The three continued their walk out of the Batcave.
Later the next night, at the Gotham University Museum benefit, Scarecrow used his fear gas on everyone in the room where the benefit is held. People were running around the room and each one was experiencing their worst fear due to the fear gas. Batman and the Scarlet Witch came to the scene when Scarecrow and two of his henchmen were running up the staircase with Dr. Long and Scarecrow with a suitcase filled with the donated money. Batman shot the bat-rope that prevented Scarecrow from getting away by wrapping around his leg. Scarecrow looked down at his leg before looking at the bottom of the staircase to see the two heroes.
"Batman! Scarlet Witch! I am surprised! I thought you'd both be at home enjoying my time-release fear toxin. Ha ha ha ha," Scarecrow mocked them. Soon a scared crowd begins to form around Batman and Scarlet Witch, "Welcome to everyone's worst fear! Isn't that invigorating!?"
"It's a giant bat and a demon!" A woman hits Batman and Scarlet Witch with her purse. Soon, everyone was pulled out of their fears before they formed around the two heroes and attack them.
"Marvelous. Simply marvelous!" Scarecrow cheered before escaping to the roof.
"Abaeo Exorior!" Scarlet Witch spoke. A dome forms around the two heroes, pushing the crowd away from them. The heroes blur up and the dome disappears, and the dome reappears on the roof with the heroes.
Scarlet Witch and Batman saw Scarecrow's zeppelin getting away. The two heroes rush over to the fear gas tubing and grab onto it before it was too late. They began climbing up the tubing before they were on top of the zeppelin. As they walked atop the zeppelin, one of Scarecrow's henchmen appeared behind them.
"End of the line!" He yelled at the heroes with a Tommy gun pointed at them.
Batman throws a batarang and it hits the henchman's hand, causing him to drop his gun. Batman and the henchman both rush toward the gun and begin to fight over the gun, causing bullets to be fired from the gun and rip through the zeppelin.
Scarlet puts up a shield to protect herself from the bullets that were coming at her before she shouts, "Appendaga Regoria!"
The henchman becomes paralyzed and Batman takes the gun away. Scarlet Witch rushes over to Batman and he hands her the gun.
"Decrusto," She spoke and the gun turns to ashes, "Abaeo Exorior," a dome forms around the henchman before it disappears to the GCPD, "One down, two to go."
The zeppelin crashes, causing Batman and Scarlet Witch to fall down from the zeppelin, but Batman fires his grappling hook that latches onto the zeppelin's spindle and grabs Scarlet Witch's hand to prevent the both of them from falling to the ground. The two then start climbing up the grappling hook, but when they reached the spindle to catch their breath the fear toxin that was in their system began causing them to hallucinate.
"Grace... Grace," Thomas and Martha called to their daughter.
"It's not real. It's not real" Scarlet Witch told herself. She hallucinates giant figures of her parents with bright red eyes.
"You are too dangerous. You are just like the freaks you fight," They told her.
"No! You are not my parents! I'm not a danger! I am vengeance! I am the Crimson Shadow! I am the Scarlet Witch!" She exclaimed, breaking herself free from the fear toxin and the vision disappears. Scarlet Witch notices that her brother was still under the power of the fear toxin and says to him, "Batman, you can fight this! It isn't real!"
"You're right," He said to her before saying to his hallucination, "You are not my father! I am not a disgrace! I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!"
The two climb down the grappling hook rope a bit before they bounce off the zeppelin to gain momentum. When they had enough momentum, Batman and the Scarlet Witch swing their way into the main cabin and shattered the glass window.
"No! - Stop him!" Scarecrow ordered his henchman before running away.
The henchman jumps onto Batman's back and is pulled off by the Scarlet Witch. The two struggled and Batman saw Scarecrow pointing a dart gun at Scarlet Witch. Batman pulled the henchman off Scarlet Witch and moves him to get hit by the dart. Soon, the fear toxin in the dart takes effect.
"No! No more prison walls! They're closing in on me! No...No! NOOOO!" The henchman cried before he umps out of the cabin into a tree below.
"It's over, Scarecrow," Batman told him.
"Only for you and the doctor, Batman!" Scarecrow responded before he jumps into the glider and flies away laughing. The zeppelin's cabin was beginning to be filled with fire and the heroes knew that time was of the essence. Batman and Scarlet Witch rush over to the unconscious Dr. Long slumped against the wall.
"What's going on?" Dr. Long asked as he was becoming conscious and the two heroes helped him up.
"Just hold on!" Batman told him.
"How...?"
"Abaeo Exorior!" Scarlet Witch spoke. A dome forms around the three and they blur up and the dome disappears, and the dome reappears on the roof with them before the zeppelin crashes. Batman summons the batmobile which arrived when the three of them were on ground level. Once the police had arrived at the scene, Batman and the Scarlet Witch took off in search of the Scarecrow. As the two drove, Scarlet Witch pressed a button that turned on the batcomputer for what it found from the piece of Scarecrow's mask.
"Exhibit A. Scarecrow Mask. Analysis complete. Substance is manufactured by 5 corporations in Gotham City. Axis Engineering, Bio Laboratories, Crane Chemicals, Macurity Manufacturing, Star Labs," It listed.
"Computer, crossreference former employees of Gotham Estate University with the chemical labs," Batman said.
"Searching. Found. One. Jonathan Crane; owner-operator of Crane Chemicals."
"Computer, background on Crane," Scarlet Witch requested.
"Searching. Former professor of psychology. Specialty: Fear and phobias."
"Bingo," The two heroes said, having found the identity of the Scarecrow before driving to Crane Chemicals.
When they arrived at Crane Chemicals, the two heroes snuck in and made sure that two of the gas canisters leak a little. Scarlet Witch shielded herself and Batman so they would not be infected by the gas. The two waited in the shadows for Scarecrow to return. A while later, Scarecrow walks into the building and begins complaining about his defeat.
"It's not fair! Revenge was within my grasp... I was so close!" Scaretakes takes off his mask and notices a gas leak. He is infected by the fear gas and the lights turn off, "What's going on? Who's there?" He starts hallucinating with a giant bat and witch, "AAHHH! No! Please!" He stumbles into Batman and Scarlet Witch. Scarecrow jumps back and lands on the floor. He crawls away from them, "No! Stop! Leave me alone!"
"What's the matter Scarecrow?" Batman asked.
"Can't handle your own medicine?" Scarlet witch questioned.
"Uh...uh...Batman! Scarlet Witch! No! No! No! Stay Away!" He sees Batman and Scarlet as giant demons, "S-Stay away! NO! NO!"
Batman takes Scarecrow from the floor, "Oh, yes!"
Moments later at the G.C.P.D. headquarters, Bullock, Alder, and Gordon walk into his office discussing Batman and the Scarlet Witch.
"Look at the facts, Commissioner! Batman and the Scarlet Witch are withholding evidence! Even helped the Scarecrow guy escape! I bet my badge the two of them and Scarecrow are cahoots!" Bullock told him.
"Your badge, eh?" Gordon said.
"You promise?" Adler asked Bullock as she points at the fan in his office.
Bullock notices Scarecrow hanging from it with a note left by Batman and Scarlet Witch, "UH!?"
"Now, about that badge..." Gordon began.
The next day, Bruce and Grace stood in front of their parents' grave. They each placed two roses in front of the grave and stood there for a moment before walking away.