Batman: The Dark Knight #14

Issue Details

Synopsis

THE TWILIGHT KINGDOM Despite breaking free of his bonds, Batman is still weak from the Scarecrow's Fear Toxin. Still, his outrage fuels him, and he leaps onto his enemy. Unfortunately, this move inadvertently causes Scarecrow's scythe to ham sharply into his shoulder-blade, and break off. This gives Scarecrow the advantage, and so Batman takes a desperate measure, firing his tensile grappling line up and through the soft tissue under Scarecrow's jaw, and into the ceiling.   Agonizingly, Batman pulls himself along the floor and out of the old house, leaving Scarecrow dangling by his chin from the basement roof. With some significant pain, Scarecrow threads the line through his jaw, and releases himself, following Batman's blood trail up the stairs. As he retrieves his sample of super-toxin from his desk, he hears the young kidnapped girl, Luz, calling to him in her fear.   Reluctantly, he opens the door to her prison and takes her into his arms, carrying her out to the door. However, as gas line in the house was opened by the tussle with Batman, and a live wire sparks nearby causing a fire. As Scarecrow stumbles, he urges Luz to run for her life as he is caught in the blast that destroys the house.   Elsewhere, Batman stumbles into an alley, still injured and affected by fear toxin. A group of thugs spots him, and they see his weakness as an opportunity to make a name for themselves. Before they can attack him, however, some swift movements by Robin send them reeling. Batman wakes sometime later in his bed at home with his son sitting next to him, glad to have been found.   Later, the Gotham City Police Department fails to recover any bodies from the wreckage of the old house. Scarecrow, meanwhile, is hiding in the old basement that his father used to lock him in, listening to the news reports about his crime. Angrily, he vows to bring more fear to Gotham.   Little Luz is questioned by Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock, revealing that she did see maps with locations and buildings marked on them - but they were probably burnt in the fire. Still, she does remember the locations vaguely. She comments that the Scarecrow is not all bad, just like the Batman - whose clandestine presence in the room she is somehow aware of - is not all good. She turns to him and warns that he had better be wary, as he has made the Scarecrow angry.   Scarecrow drags himself to the Iceberg Casino, tracking blood all over the carpets. Handing over his payment of stolen diamonds to The Penguin, he demands to know whether the arrangements he asked for have been made. The device he commissioned is nearly finished, and will likely be ready in time for Christmas.   When the time for the Gotham City Christmas Parade comes, Scarecrow infiltrates it with a small blimp, and releases fear toxin into the streets.