Chapter Text
By the Book of Fear
Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Welcome to Episode 25 of my Batman '66 continuation, and the beginning of Season Two! I have a lot of ideas planned for this "season", so I hope you'll look forward to them! Now, on with the story!
It's another peaceful night in Gotham City! Bookworms gather in the Gotham City Public Library to satiate their brain's appetite for books, little knowing what was to come…
Citizens sat at tables reading their books, others walked around the various bookshelves looking for their next read. Suddenly, a voice echoed in the doorway of the library as orange fog slithered along the floor.
"Learn from me," it said, "if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge..."
Patrons stared at the voice, and out of the fog came none other than Frankenstein's Monster! Its green body stretched its arms outward like a zombie and moaned as patrons and librarians alike ran away in fear.
"What is that?" one woman cried, pointing at the monster and darting underneath a table.
"Mommy, save me!" a little girl screamed, hugging her mom's waist.
As patrons ran out of the library, one figure slipped through the orange fog. Brown leather gloves and a brown suit that resembled rare old book bindings could be seen, as well as a hat with a reading lamp perched on top.
"'I am alone and miserable,'" the figure said ominously. "'Man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create.'"
As it moved through the library, the figure stepped into an exhibition featuring several paper manuscripts in the center. Halloween decorations were set up, and these manuscripts were inside a locked glass cube.
"It's time, my friend," the figure announced. "I made sure to grab the key from the head librarian. The bat and bird will no doubt come soon, and the chase will begin. But as for now—as Louis Wain once said—'A mouse in the paws is worth two in the pantry.'"
The figure unlocked the glass case, then reached out and grabbed the manuscript. As they left the library, the figure dropped a torn white notebook page on the floor, and exited into the night as another shadowy figure followed behind.
Meanwhile, in Stately Wayne Manor, Bruce was sitting down on a couch watching Dick Grayson, who was standing in the middle of the living room.
"'I was benevolent and good,'" Dick recited to Bruce. "'Misery made me a fiend.'"
"Great job, Dick," Bruce complimented as Aunt Harriet walked into the room. "Mary Shelley was truly ahead of her time, wasn't she?"
"That Monster gives me the creeps!" Aunt Harriet shuddered. "Oh, am I glad that Frankenstein wasn't a real story!"
"I'm glad too, Aunt Harriet," Dick acknowledged.
While this was going on, a shell beeping sound came from Bruce's study. Alfred, who just so happened to be nearby, stealthily entered the study and answered the Red Phone.
"I'll call him, sir," Alfred told Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara on the other end of the line. The faithful butler politely walked into the living room and whispered into Bruce's ear. "It's the Bat-Phone, sir."
"Ah, thanks for reminding me, Alfred," Bruce declared. "We need to prepare our costumes for the upcoming Gotham City Costume Contest. Let's go, Dick."
"Right with you, Bruce," Dick replied, and the two of them walked towards Bruce's study.
"Oh, Alfred," Aunt Harriet smiled, "do you think you can help me get mine ready, too?"
"I'll try my best, Madame," Alfred told her, wiping his glasses.
Within Bruce's study, Bruce Wayne picked up the Bat-Phone.
"Yes, Commissioner?" Bruce asked in his Batman voice.
"Horror in the Gotham City Public Library, Batman!" Commissioner Gordon remarked. "Patrons reported a monster in the library followed by the disappearance of the valuable Frankenstein manuscripts on display."
"We'll be right there," Bruce answered him, then put the Bat-Phone down and looked at Dick as his ward flipped up the famous Shakespeare bust. "To the Bat-Poles!"
In a flash, the two of them ran towards the Bat-Poles and slid down them towards the Batcave.
Bruce and Dick—now dressed as Batman and Robin—rushed into the Batmobile.
"Atomic batteries to power…" Robin remarked as they buckled up. "Turbines to speed…"
"Roger," Batman confirmed. "Ready to move out."
The Batmobile blared to life, and Batman drove it at a safe yet swift driving speed to Gotham City Police Headquarters.
Inside Gotham City Police Headquarters, Batman and Robin had a briefing with Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara.
"Everyone claimed they were seein' a monster, lads!" Chief O'Hara remarked. "Imagine that!"
"Was there anything suspicious at the crime scene, gentlemen?" Batman asked.
"Patrons reported an orange fog in the room," Commissioner Gordon admitted, "and one of our men found this on the floor near the Frankenstein exhibition." He handed Batman the white notebook page, and the Caped Crusader's eyes narrowed beneath his cowl.
"It reads: 'I am all in a sea of wonders. I doubt; I fear; I think strange things, which I dare not confess to my own soul,'" Batman observed.
"Gee, Batman," Robin added. "Isn't that a quote from Dracula?"
"Right you are, old chum," Batman confirmed. "Hmm…an orange fog, accompanied by the theft of manuscripts of a famous horror book…"
"What is it, Batman?" Robin asked.
"I shudder to think of the possibility," Batman replied, "but I can't help but reach the conclusion that the unthinkable has happened! Think, Robin! Orange fog…a monster hallucination…combined with a literary theft…"
"Holy team-up!" Robin exclaimed, slamming his fist into his palm. "You don't mean—?"
"Precisely, Robin," Batman confirmed. "All evidence points toward an unholy alliance of two of our most notorious foes—Scarecrow and Bookworm."
"Incredible!" Chief O'Hara gasped. "What would we ever do without yer detective skills, Batman?"
"We have no time to waste!" Batman said. "Where, Robin, where…do you associate vampires most?"
Robin put one hand on his chin.
"Holy human mosquitos," Robin said quietly. "Mansions, cemeteries—that's it! The Gotham City Cemetery!"
"Let's go!" Batman exclaimed as he and Robin ran out of Gotham City Police Headquarters.
At the Gotham City Cemetery, chaos was rampant. Scarecrow's signature orange fear gas floated in the air as Bookworm, reading from a copy of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, was wearing a gas mask. People were running as they thought they were seeing none other than the Headless Horseman himself riding his iconic white horse while holding his pumpkin head in one hand.
"It can't be!" one passerby cried.
"It is!" another replied.
"'There are certain half-dreaming moods of mind in which we naturally steal away from noise and glare," Bookworm read, holding a copy of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in one gloved hand, "'and seek some quiet haunt where we may indulge our reveries and build our air castles undisturbed.'"
Then he turned to face the Scarecrow, who was decked out in his signature straw hat with his pumpkin-themed fear gas gun.
"This new fear gas of yours is quite ingenious, I must say," Bookworm grinned. "Especially how it responds to my readings. With this marvelous mixture, we can make anyone see anything with just the voices of the ages."
"I appreciate the compliment, Bookworm," Scarecrow replied. "I always said—why limit fear to what people expect, when we can let their imaginations do the work for us?"
Bookworm turned around to see his henchmen—Verso, Recto, Buckram, and the ever-loyal Printer's Devil—wearing gas masks and walking towards them. Bookworm's Moll, Lydia Limpet, wasn't far behind them. All of Bookworm's henchmen were wearing glasses.
"The Batmobile is pulling up, Bookworm," Printer's Devil said eagerly. "Your trap is working!"
"Then you know what that means," Bookworm remarked, putting one gloved finger into the air. "Into position!"
Bookworm's henchmen hid behind several bushy trees, and on cue, Batman and Robin ran into the Gotham City Cemetery. They were both wearing gas masks.
"Give it up, Bookworm and Scarecrow!" Batman announced, standing in front of the criminals with his hands on his hips.
"Such a feeble mind," Bookworm scoffed. "Do you really expect us to give up that easily? Worms—get them!"
On cue, Bookworm's henchmen popped out from behind the trees and stood ready to fight Batman and Robin.
"Wait!" Batman remarked. "Your glasses!"
The henchmen nodded. All of them took off their glasses, handed them to Bookworm, then a Bat-Fight began.
POW!
Batman punched Verso in the chin.
CRACK!
Robin kicked Recto in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards. While the Bat-Fight was going on, Batman was deftly dancing between the paths of the gravestones, being remarkably careful to not step on any. Printer's Devil hid behind one for cover, causing Batman to stop mid-punch before his fist touched it. "We mustn't disrespect the dead, citizen," Batman said firmly.
Printer's Devil stood back up and, as they stepped carefully away from the gravestones, attempted to punch Batman in the chest. The Caped Crusader dodged it.
"We're losing, Scarecrow," Lydia Limpet whispered to the fear-obsessed villain. "And we can't use your fear gas on them with those gas masks."
"Never fear, Lydia," Scarecrow replied coolly. "I sense good things from what's to come."
While Bookworm, Lydia Limpet, and Scarecrow continued talking to one another, Buckram got punched square in the chin by Robin.
KLONK!
As Robin punched Buckram, Batman was still hopping around the gravestones in the cemetery. Verso went after him, and Batman just barely dodged a punch from him.
"Holy close calls!" Robin called out. "You're running out of room to maneuver, Batman!"
"Remember, Robin," Batman reminded Robin firmly, "never let justice trample respect."
As Batman was dodging the gravestones, he got punched in the chest by Printer's Devil, sending him to the ground.
"Batman!" Robin cried out. "I'll help you!"
As Robin ran to help his mentor, however, his foot caught on a gravestone. He fell, laying sprawled on the ground. Bookworm's henchmen used the opportunity to seize Batman and Robin so they couldn't escape. Scarecrow cackled.
"Unfortunately for you, you Caped Curator of Conscience," he cackled, "your fear of disrespecting the dead…has been your downfall."
"H-holy morality," Robin said quietly.
Bookworm and Scarecrow only smiled at the duo as the henchmen removed their gas masks. Then, all went black.
The Dynamic Duo awoke to the grinding hiss of a metallic press. They opened their eyes to find themselves tied inside a large printing press in the middle of a dingy, brick-walled room. Ink rollers squished as paper fed through the machine, and a conveyor belt crept forward, leading Batman and Robin slowly toward their printed doom as orange fear gas drifted around the room. Their gas masks were lying in a corner of the room. Scarecrow, Bookworm, Lydia Limpet, and the rest of the gang watched with satisfied smiles.
"We've finally done it, Bookworm!" Lydia Limpet grinned. "We're about to destroy Batman and Robin!"
"Indeed, my sweet Lydia," Bookworm cooed, adjusting his glasses. "It's a pity that we can't stay around to witness it. Time is needed to spread fear throughout Gotham. As Carl Sandburg once said—'Time is the coin of life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.'"
"Aptly stated, Bookworm," Scarecrow rasped, his voice tinged with pride. "Farewell, you Caped Clods! See you in the halls of the afterlife!"
With that, the gang of criminals exited the room, leaving Batman and Robin alone, trapped inside the printing press.
Oh no! Will the Caped Crusaders be pressed to a pulp? Stay tuned to find out—same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!
Author's Note: That's Episode #25! What did you think? I hope that you enjoyed it, and as usual, feel free to leave suggestions for villains/plots, and feedback if you wish to do so! Stay tuned for the next part!
Until then,
Gabe S. :)